ICSID to announce ruling on Rosia Montana gold mining project on March 8

The World Bank International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) has informed Romania and Gabriel Resources that it expects to render its Award on the litigation related to the Rosia Montana gold mining project on March 8, 2024.

Romania's finance minister, Marcel Bolos, admitted that the ruling, if monetary, will certainly impact the budget deficit – but he also mentioned that the tribunal may render a non-monetary award, meaning a decision to ask Romania to unblock the gold mining project, according to News.ro.

As regards the monetary ruling, minister Bolos reiterated expectations in the range of USD 0.5 billion-1 billion (the value of investments) to USD 6.7 billion – an estimate of the compensations, including penalties and interest.

If the ruling is non-monetary, Marcel Bolos said that Romania would have to renew the license and somehow issue the environmental permit.

"On the other hand, the environmental agreement [has to be agreed upon], respectively the technologies that need to be updated and that are friendly to the environment, are those that are established by specialists, they are the result of the documentation that is drawn up by the investors, and we have the national authority in the field that will have its say regarding the conditions on which we will have to respect for the environmental requirements," said Bolos.

Prime minister Marcel Ciolacu, in turn, speaking on the same subject, floated the idea of organizing a public referendum aimed at deciding whether exploiting Rosia Montana gold is a good idea or not, Bursa.ro reported. It is not clear how the result of the referendum will be further used, though, other than for political purposes.

The exploitation license for the Rosia Montana project is held by Rosia Montana Gold Corporation (RMGC), a Romanian company 80.7% owned by Gabriel Resources.

RMGC obtained the license in June 1999. Gabriel Resources claims that despite the fulfillment of its legal obligations and its development of the Rosia Montana project as a high-quality, sustainable, and environmentally responsible mining project using the best available techniques, Romania has unlawfully blocked and prevented the implementation of the Rosia Montana Project without due process and compensation.