Activists gather 100,000 signatures against gold mine

Campaigners on Thursday submitted a petition to Romania's parliament signed by 100,000 opponents of plans by a Canadian company to extract gold from Rosia Montana, in Transylvania. "Our campaign has been a success, people's reaction was very encouraging and many of those who signed the petition have in their turn become activists," Raluca Dan, one of the organizers, told AFP. "The campaign will continue because we want to prove that most Romanians are against the gold mine." The move was aimed to coincide with a visit to Romania by a delegation of the European Parliament's petition committee, who met with opponents of the Rosia Montana opencast mine. Activists also called on Romanian lawmakers to vote against a draft law stating that "mining works are in the public interest" and enabling mining companies to expropriate owners as they please. Rosia Montana Gold Corporation, which is 80 percent held by Canadian firm Gabriel Resources and 20% by the Romanian State, plans to extract some 300 tonnes of gold, thought to be Europe's largest deposit, by using cyanide. The project has drawn criticism from environmentalists, archaeologists, historians and international organisations claiming the mine would threaten the environment and priceless Roman-era mining galleries. The company has already obtained a permit from the Romanian Culture ministry but still needs the go-ahead from the Environmental ministry to start digging.