Romania is smiling. The famous ancient Roman gold mines of Rosia Montana are now a UNESCO World Heritage Site! Stretching over seven kilometers, these gold mines dating from the second and third centuries represent the Roman mining complex “the most important, the largest and the most varied known in the world”, according to Unesco. Romanian President Klaus Iohannis welcomed this decision, taken on the occasion of the annual meeting of the World Heritage Committee, in Fuzhou, China. “Rosia Montana can become a model of heritage presentation”, wrote the Romanian president on his Facebook account.
This site has “found the place it deserves, it is the result of 25 years of efforts” deployed by civil society, congratulated AFP Sorin Jurca, a resident committed to its preservation. Discovered on site, waxed wooden tablets bearing engraved texts dating from the same period “offer an authentic picture of the daily life and cultural practice of this ancient mining community,” he added. But these galleries are “vulnerable”, warned the UN agency, calling on the Romanian government to protect them and “not to issue an extraction permit” on this site.
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A Canadian company, Gabriel Resources, which has held a mining concession there since 1999, planned to raze four massifs and use large quantities of cyanide to extract 300 tonnes of gold and 1,600 tonnes of silver. Under the pressure of a major mobilization, successive governments refused to issue an agreement essential for the launch of the works.
Referring to an “expropriation”, Gabriel Resources requested international arbitration in 2015 and demanded 4.4 billion dollars in damages from Romania. While the verdict is expected in 2022, the company, contacted by AFP, has not ruled out launching a new legal action following the classification of the site by Unesco.
The application for World Heritage listing “contravenes Romania’s obligations under international treaties in its relations with Gabriel Resources,” the company said in a statement on Tuesday, assuring that its mining project would have “generated enormous profits. economic “for this country.
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