Masivul Cârnic este monument istoric

Association ARA Publishing house Symposium

Press Release:

Rosia Montana's Cârnic Massif is officially a historic monument.

Any permit that allows mining of the Cârnic Massif is illegal!

According to Romania's List of Historic Monuments (LMI 2010), published in the Official Gazette on 01.10.2010 (Official Gazette, Annex Nr. 1, part I, Nr. 670/bis/01.10.2010, p. 15, nr. 146), Roşia Montană's entire Cârnic Massif enjoys the statute of a historic monument (cod AB-I-s-A-20329). This means that all patrimonial components of this monument are protected: the entire system of mining exploitation dating from the Roman, to Medieval and Modern times.

This also means that the permitting of the Roşia Montană mine proposal in the form in which it has been submitted to Romania's ministry for the Environment and Forests is illegal. In addition to the fact that such permit would be flagrantly illegal it is worth underlining and reminding that RMGC's mine proposal entails the destruction of this monument because it wants to exploit this mountain via the open cast mining method and thus turn the Cârnic Massif - the historic monument - into an open cast mine.

In the event that RMGC is granted an environmental avis by Romania's Ministry for the Environment and Forests; thus authorising the exploitation of the Cârnic Massif - a historic monument - both, Romania's Law on Historic Monuments (L.422/2001, art. 10, alin. 4, art. 11, alin. 2) and Romania's Mining Law (L. 85/2003, art. 11, alin. 1) will be violated.

As a consequence the ARA association today officially requested Romania's Minister for the Environment and Forests to enforce the above mentioned laws by:

Immediately and unreservedly reject the request to obtain an environmental avis for the Roşia Montană mine proposal submitted by RMGC and to return all the relevant documentation to the project owner.

Attached to this press release you will find the full text of the letter submitted today by the ARA association to Romania's Ministry for the Environment and Forests. The ministry's registration number of the letter is Nr. 71476 / 21.02.2011.