Roia Montana Fighting over the land of gold Klement Edina Introduction The conflict I would like to solve

with the method of sustained dialogue, it is a Romanian conflict which evolved from a local dispute to an international one, when a geological research has shown that Romania has the largest undeveloped deposit of gold and silver in Europe, concentrated in an area with an ancient tradition of gold mining. It has been estimated that in the Roia Montana region there are currently approximately 300 tons of gold and 1,700 tons of silver. Roia Montana is a commune in Romania and until 2006, the commune it could pride itself with having an almost uninterrupted history of gold mining since ancient times (131 AD). This geological discovery has attracted a huge interest of foreign investors. In 1997, the Canadian company Gabriel Resources, a company that was set up especially for the purpose of mining gold in the Roia Montana region signed a contract with the Romanian state in order to extract gold and silver by using cyanide. . So far, due to the opposition of resident people, local NGOs, due to an archaeological discovery, due to the divided opinion of the politicians and to the reaction of international institutions, the project has been delayed and the mining project supporters and opponents are in conflict for more than a decade. The local level of the conflict As I mentioned before, the conflict over the development of a proposed large-scale mine grew from local level to global scale. I would like to focus on the local level, because I believe that the using of the sustained dialogue method would help the local and direct affected actors of this conflict to clarify and identify their problems, fears and interests related to the mining project. The first level of the conflict (local) evolved when the Gabriel Resources company announced that they want to develop the gold deposit at Roia Montana, using cyanide and this announcement met a big opposition from several hundred resident families. In order to mine gold, the village of Roia Montan would be mostly destroyed and a 600 hectare artificial lake would be constructed in the neighbor valley as a deposit for the
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cyanides residues. Representatives of religious institutions have also expressed their opposition to the project because their churches and cemeteries would be affected. In 2002, the Gabriel Resources company started the property acquisition program. As a result, a growing number of people began to leave Roia Montana, partly tempted by the compensations offered by Gabriel Resources for their properties and in part for fear of being expropriated by the company. During the first two years of property acquisitions (2002 2004), the mining company used different pressure tactics to convince Roia Montana residents to sell their properties. For example, the local doctor was apparently paid by the company to leave Roia Montan in 2003. At the end of 2007, approximately 3/4 of residents had sold their properties but in the following years no more acquisitions took place. A smaller number of Alburnus Maior (villagers from Rosia Montana, Corna and Bucium established the NGO Alburnus Maior against the mining project, under the leadership of former mining engineer) members still residing in Roia Montan claim that they are determined to resist any offers and pressures that the company might mount against them. On the other part, the project is supported by those who believe the promises that the company makes: more than 3,600 jobs, 4 billion US dollars, clean water and investments in education, housing and infrastructure. Taking in consideration that the most working-age population in the area is unemployed and they are no longer entitled to unemployment benefits, the mining project seems to be the solution for the villagers to lead a decent life and to offer opportunities to their children. To summarize the main issue of this conflict, I would say that both scenarios (realization of the project or banning of the project) would have big impacts on social, economic and environmental levels. The local actors of the conflict The main groups of actors can be distinguished as follows: The mining company Gabriel Resources and its Romanian subsidiary (RMGC), local NGOs supporting the project (Pro Roia Montan [For Roia Montan], Pro Dreptatea [For Justice], Sindicatul Viitorul Mineritului [The Union for the Future of Mining]); Alburnus Maior, the Soros Foundation Roia Montan (now Cultural Foundation Roia Montan);

 The state authorities in Roia Montan (village council, mayors office, state-owned enterprise RoiaMin); Religious institutions in Rosia Montana; The population living in Roia Montan and its environs. Conclusion The Roia Montan conflict reveals different interests of the involved actors , which sometimes are conflicting, other times conjoint. This interests could be and must be identified and clarified within the community of Rosia Montana during a dialogue involving all local stakeholder. A dialogue would help them to map and name their problems and to deal with them. They could define the most pressing elements of this conflict and identify some possible ways to change them with the help of sustained dialogue.