Romania Wins Case against Rosia Montana Gold Corporation – Gabriel Resources LTD (GBU.TO)

Romania won the arbitration case versus Rosia Montana Gold Corporation, in which Gabriel Resources LTD (GBU.TO) demanded approximately USD 6.7 billion in compensation, according to the decision of the International Court of Arbitration of the International Center for the Settlement of Disputes Related to Investments.

Gabriel Resources invested EUR 900 million and demanded compensation of EUR 6.7 billion because the project failed. The international arbitration action was initiated in 2015 against Romania by two foreign investors, Gabriel Resources Ltd. and Gabriel Resources (Jersey). It was based on the Agreements regarding the promotion and mutual guarantee of investments concluded by Romania with the Government of Canada (ratified by Law no. 356/2009) and the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (ratified by Law no. 109/1995).

The decision was initially announced on Friday evening by Prime Minister Ciolacu, after weeks in which signals were sent from the Government that Romania could lose the trial and be forced to pay huge penalties.

Romania was represented in this process by the Romanian law firm Leaua Damcali Deaconu Paunescu – LDDP and the Swiss firm LALIVE SA.

We won the Roşia Montană trial (…). Thank you to the lawyers who represented Romania professionally and with honour! Romanians should not suffer because of the decisions of prime ministers who put personal interests above national interests.

Romania’s PM Marcel Ciolacu on the decision in the process vs RMGC

According to the document through which the decision was communicated, the decision was taken by the majority, and it also establishes a series of damages compensations that the Gabriel Resources company will have to pay to Romania, sums of money related to court costs. It is about EUR 1.1 million, RON 30.3 million and USD 0.928 million.

At the same time, according to the decision, Gabriel Resources must pay about USD 1.4 million for the costs of the arbitration process.

The fact that cyanidation was to be used for gold extraction alerted environmental organizations in the country and abroad, as well as the locals, who started constant protest actions since the beginning of the 2000s.

Between 2012 and 2014, tens of thousands of people took to the streets to protest against the special law initiated by the Ponta Government, which would have allowed exploitation to begin. Under street pressure, the Senate rejected the bill in November 2013, and the Chamber of Deputies in 2014.

The value of gold in Rosia Montana today amounts to almost 19 billion euros, adding more than one billion euros to silver

Romania wins the Roșia Montană trial. There is no compensation to be paid. Ciolacu, Boloș, PSD/PNL, together with the TV stations in which they pump hundreds of millions, have hysterical Romania for weeks with a toxic campaign against USR. Was it a campaign for pesedist grangers to make money on the stock market? Did they harm Romania by talking about billions in compensation as if we had already lost?

USR President Catalin Drula on RMGC decision

In the past month, Gabriel Resources shares have doubled in value on the Toronto Stock Exchange, from C$0.43/share on January 31st to C$0.87 on March 8th.

On Friday, the company’s shares were halted from trading by the regulatory body of the Toronto Stock Exchange, after the day before, the company had announced that the Arbitration Court had informed that on March 8, a decision would be communicated in the case that opener against Romania in 2015.

In all that time, as of January 31, Gabriel Resources’ market capitalization has nearly doubled, from USD 335 million to nearly USD 600 million.