Rosia Montana EIA Filed with Romanian Government
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TORONTO, May 18 /CNW/ - Gabriel Resources Ltd ("Gabriel") announces that the Environmental Impact Assessment for the Rosia Montana Project ("Rosia Montana EIA") has been filed with the Romanian Government. Gabriel awaits the Romanian Government's decision on the timetable for the public consultation process relating to the Rosia Montana EIA. "We look forward to the review, scrutiny and public consultation process as an opportunity to inform the interested public about our project at Rosia Montana," said Alan R. Hill, President and Chief Executive Officer of Gabriel. "We have designed Rosia Montana to be a model mining project not just for Romania, but for all of Europe. We believe the project outlined in the EIA will provide significant benefits - economic, environmental, social and cultural - to the people of Rosia Montana and to Romania as a whole." The Rosia Montana EIA, completed by an independent team of over 100 Romanian and international specialists in late March, outlines all aspects of the Rosia Montana gold and silver mining project, from construction through operations to closure and reclamation. The Rosia Montana EIA is the first-ever impact assessment to be completed after the promulgation of the new European Union Directive on Management of Waste from Extractive Industries. The Rosia Montana EIA submittal followed the technical translation into Romanian and English.
The EIA Process, Next Steps
Under Romanian law, the next step is for the Ministry of the Environment and Waters Management and Gabriel/Rosia Montana to jointly establish opportunities for public participation in decisions related to the project and to announce that schedule in the mass-media. The announcement of the public consultation schedule will be followed by a 30-business day period to allow interested parties to inform themselves about our project. We expect the public consultation schedule, along with a list of locations where the Rosia Montana EIA report can be consulted, to be announced shortly. The public consultation meeting schedule and the full EIA will be available via the Romanian Ministry of Environment and Waters Management and Gabriel websites. Comments during the public consultation period will be collected and reviewed by the Ministry of the Environment and Waters Management. Under Romanian law, the Ministry evaluates the public's "grounded proposals/comments" and reverts to Gabriel/Rosia Montana for a response that is collected and published as an Annex to the Rosia Montana EIA. The Romanian Government makes the final determination on EIA approval.
EIA Process to Date
The Rosia Montana EIA process began in December 2004 when Gabriel/Rosia Montana submitted its Project Presentation Report ("PPR") to the Ministry of Environment and Waters Management. Following its analysis of the PPR, in May 2005 Romanian authorities delivered to the Company a guideline outlining the requirements for the content of the EIA study. Due to the potential transboundary nature of the Rosia Montana project, Romania's neighbouring countries were invited to take part in the evaluation procedure of the project, as required by the 1991 Espoo Convention. Hungary was the sole country to accept the invitation, delivering a list of questions it wished to have addressed by the Rosia Montana EIA. Hungary's questions were duly incorporated into the framework for EIA analysis. Following Romanian legal requirements, Gabriel/Rosia Montana selected an independent EIA team of more than 100 specialists to prepare the Rosia Montana EIA study. The task of the EIA team was to assess the project's compliance with Romanian regulations, European Union Directives, and internationally accepted requirements for long-term sustainable development.
About Gabriel
Gabriel is a Canadian based resource company committed to responsible mining and sustainable development in the communities in which it operates. Gabriel is currently engaged in the exploration and development of mineral properties in Romania and is presently engaged in the development of its 80% owned Rosia Montana gold project.