Court changes zoning plan of Romania's Rosia Montana area, allows guesthouses

The Cluj Court has cancelled the General Urban Plan (PUG) of the Rosia Montana area, adopted in 2002, as well as a Zonal Urban Plan (PUZ) for the industrial development of the Rosia Montana Gold Corporation. If the court’s decision remains final, it will be possible to build guesthouses, stores, or factories in the area, reports local Mediafax. The General Urban Plan and Zonal Urban Plan allowed only mining development in the area, and blocked any other activity, including the building of guesthouses. Mining company Rosia Montana Gold Corporation, in which Canadian company Gabriel Resources holds an 80.69% stake, planned to open a gold mine in Rosia Montana, northwestern Romania. However, its mining project went dead in 2013, after a parliamentary commission voted down a draft bill which would have allowed Europe’s largest open pit gold mine to move forward. Another gold project in Romania, carried out by the company Eldorado Gold in Certej, should be evaluated again, based on its impact on environment, reads a report of the Mining Watch Romania network. editor@romania-insider.com