L'or de Rosia Montana
Au coeur des montagnes de Transylvanie se trouve le village de Rosia Montana, connu pour ces filons d or exploites il y a deja 2000 ans. En 1997, la societe Gabriel Resources a pour projet de reprendre l exploitation miniere du site pour extraire environs 300 tonnes d or et 1000 tonnes d argent. Le projet de mine d or a ciel ouvert, utiliserait des quantites importantes de cyanure, produit hautement toxique, stocke par la suite dans un lac artificiel de d?une dizaine de km². Ce procede entrainerait la disparation du village, de ces mines bimillenaires ainsi que celui de la faune et de la flore environnante.
Des le debut du projet une partie des habitants de Rosia Montana luttent contre ce projet qui rayerait de la carte leur vie mais Gabriel Resources reussi a acquerir malgre tout plus la moitie des maisons et terrains du site en promettant argent et emploie aux habitants du village, dont une grande partie est au chomage. En septembre 2013, le gouvernement roumain qui a approuve un projet de loi permettant l exploitation depuis quelque mois doit reculer devant des manifestations nationales et internationales contre le projet de mine. Puis en janvier 2016, les alentours du village et les alentours sont declares site historique d interet national, ce qui bloque le projet minier. L histoire ne s arretes pas la et la societe Canadienne a l?origine du projet continue a se battre pour continuer le projet, face un gouvernement critiquer et une population desireuse de se proteger d?une nouvelle catastrophe ecologique.
Parmi les defenseurs du site, qui habitent le village on retrouve Sorin Jurca, proprietaire d?une epicerie au centre du village et d une maison centrale du village, Eugen David, agriculteur, qui deviendra tres vite la figure de la lutte, et Tica Darie, qui decide de s installer en 2013 et de creer une societe de produits en laine tricotes a la main par des femmes du village alors qu?il n est age que d?une vingtaine d annees.
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Rosia Montana's Gold
In the heart of the mountains of Transylvania is the village of Rosia Montana, known for these golden mines which were exploited already 2000 years ago. In 1997, the Gabriel Resources company plans to restart the explotation of the site to extract 300 tons of gold and 1000 tons of silver. The project of open-air gold mine, would use very important quantities of cyanide, highly toxic product, stored afterward in an artificial lake about ten km ². This process would trigger the disparation of the village, these bimillenaries mines as well as that of the surrounding flora and fauna.
From the beginning of the project a part of the inhabitants of Rosia Montana fight against this project which would wipe of the map their life but Gabriel Resources managed to acquire nevertheless more than half of the houses and the grounds of the site by promising money and jobs to the inhabitants of the village, mostly unemployed. In September 2013, some after the Romanian government made a law allowing the exploitation, it had to move back in front of national and international demonstrations against the project. Then in January 2016, the surroundings of the village ware declared historic site of national interest, what blocks the mining project. The story does not end here and the Canadian company at the origin of the project continues to fight for the project, at the front of a government criticized and a population avid to protect itself from a new ecological disaster.
Among the defenders of the site, who live in the village, we find Sorin Jurca, owner of a grocery's shop and an house in the center of the village, Eugen David, farmer, who will become very fast an iconic figure of the fight, and Tica Darie, arrived in the village in 2013, who decides to create a company of woolen products hand knit by women of the village.
This victory of the Population in front of the government is symbolic of the social and political wake-up of the Romanian civil society these last years.
More infos and pictures are available on request.
