Canadian-Romanian goldmine draws protests

BUCHAREST - Hundreds of Romanians took to the streets Saturday in two simultaneous demonstrations in a Transylvanian village and in Bucharest, one in support and the other against a Canadian goldmine project.

"We are here to sound the alarm and call on authorities to take into account Romanians' opposition to this project," Eugen David, chairman of Alburnus Maior association, one of the organizers of the Bucharest protest, told AFP.

Rosia Montana Gold Corp., which is 80 percent held by Canadian firm Gabriel Resources and 20% by the Romanian state, plans to use cyanide to extract some 300 tonnes of gold in the village of Rosia Montana, thought to be Europe's largest deposit.

On Saturday, hundreds of people supporting the project gathered in the central square of the village yelling "Down with Unemployment" or "We Live on Gold, We Die of Hunger," the Mediafax news agency reported.

"It's time for the government to decide to open the mine," said Cristian Albu, chairman of Viitorul Mineritului mining union. "We want jobs for us and our children."

The company has already obtained a permit from the Romanian culture ministry but still needs the go-ahead from the environment ministry to start digging.

The project has drawn criticism from environmentalists, archaeologists, historians and international organizations that claim the mine would threaten the environment and priceless Roman-era mining galleries.

"Yes to Culture, No to Cyanide," protesters yelled in Bucharest, calling on the government to propose Rosia Montana as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Activists also protested against a draft law stating that mining is in the public interest and enabling mining companies to expropriate land as they please.

"We are against this project first because the company's promises to create thousands of jobs are false, according to analysis of similar mines," Bogdan Hossu, chairman of Cartel Alfa, one of the main union confederations in the country, told AFP.

"Secondly, the project consists in having a huge tailings pond (mine dump). In case of an ecological disaster like the one in Baia Mare in 2000 or in Hungary in 2010, the Romanian state would be held responsible," he added.