Roșia Montană mobilises against industrial mining

Background

The landscape of Roşia Montană (covering 2,500 km² approx.) is well known for its rich deposits of precious metals (mostly gold and silver) and has been subject of mining activities since Dacian and Roman times. These activities have left many sites and buildings from different historical periods, including a gallery network of 150km².

A major threat to the site has been a more recent large-scale open-cast mining project promoted by a Canadian company, which is the main shareholder of the Roşia Montană Gold Corporation (RMGC). In December 2015, the Romanian Ministry of Culture put an end to the proposed mining project by classifying the town of Roșia Montană and its surroundings as a Category A historic monument. The region was officially inscribed on Romania’s Tentative List of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in October 2016. In January 2017, the nomination dossier for World Heritage inscription was submitted for consideration. In June 2018, Europa Nostra also supported ICOMOS’ recommendation to inscribe Roșia Montană both on the World Heritage List and on the List of World Heritage in Danger.

The local association AlburnusMaior is leading strong advocacy efforts in collaboration with other local actors such as the Association ARA. Together, they have created a programme for the conservation of local cultural heritage fuelled by voluntary participation and contributions from individuals and small grants from public organizations.