A Canadian mining company on Friday lost an arbitration case against Romania after it blocked a gold mining project at a site now recognised by UNESCO, Bucharest announced.
Canadian firm Gabriel Resources had sought up to $6.7 billion (6.1 billion euros) in damages from the Romanian government for pausing the development near the village of Rosia Montana in the Carpathians, home to 2,000-year-old Roman mining galleries UNESCO added to its World Heritage List in 2021.
The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), a World Bank arbitration panel, rejected Gabriel Resources’ claims for damages in a ruling published Friday by the Romanian government.
Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu hailed the decision in a statement on Facebook, appearing to take a swipe at previous governments that supported the project.
“Romanians must not suffer because of the decisions of some prime ministers who put their personal interests above national interests!” he wrote.
Gabriel Resources did not immediately comment on the ruling.
The company was granted a licence to mine for gold in the area in 1999, but the project was put on hold in 2013 after nationwide protests sparked by environmental concerns.
In 2016, Romania declared Rosia Montana a site of historical interest, granting it protection from mining activity. In its complaint registered with ICSID, Gabriel Resources accused the Romanian government of “a sustained failure to act in administrative proceedings despite there being an obligation to act”.
The company also said Romania didn’t offer compensation after halting the project.
Government spokesman Mihai Constantin said prior to the decision that Romania wanted to “minimise” any “budgetary and social impact” for the eastern European country.
The local community had been split over the gold mining project, with some welcoming the potential economic opportunities and others worrying about the environmental impact.
