By Martin Banks - 4th May 2010
What this parliamentary resolution seeks to do is, effectively, shut down an industry
Dragos Tanase
Plans for a possible EU-wide ban on the use of cyanide in gold mining have been condemned as "massively harmful."
MEPs will vote on Wednesday on a resolution which calls for a ban on the use of cyanide mining technologies.
The resolution has been signed by several deputies, including EPP members János Áder, Richard Seeber, Theodoros Skylakakis and Zuzana Roithová; Socialists Daciana Octavia Sârbu and Csaba Sándor Tabajdi; ALDE MEP Chris Davies and GUE deputies Kartika Tamara Liotard, Sabine Wils, João Ferreira and Jirí Maštálka.
Áder said there are "good grounds" to argue that cyanide should be abolished in the member states that still allow it because the environmental risks are too great.
But the managing director of a planned gold mine in Romania has condemned the proposal, saying it could put at risk "tens of thousands of jobs" and cause "untold damage" to mining communities.
If it is given a permit to operate, the Gold Mountain mine in the Romanian town of Rosia Montana would be one of Europe's biggest gold mines.
Its MD Dragos Tanase, in Brussels to lobby against Wednesday's vote, told this website of the possible consequences of such a ban.
He said, "Many, many jobs rely on this industry in places such Rosia Montana in Romania and, without it, there would be no jobs.
"The important thing to stress here is that, currently, there is simply no alternative technology available. We have no option, whether you like it or not, to the use of cyanide."
Though non-binding, he says that, if passed, the resolution is likely to pave the way for EU-wide legislation on the issue.
"What this parliamentary resolution seeks to do is, effectively, shut down an industry. If successful, it will sound the death knell for jobs and local communities. That is why I have come to Brussels to try and lobby against it," he said.
Tanase said he believes that the MEPs are "motivated by a general opposition to the gold mining industry."
Several member states, including Sweden, Finland, Spain and Italy, have gold deposits but, currently, only two, Hungary and the Czech Republic, ban cyanide in gold mining.
The issue has been particularly sensitive since a devastating accident in Baia Mare in Romania in 2000 when a leak of cyanide into the Somes River by the gold mining company Aurul caused major environmental damage.
The resolution going to Wednesday's plenary follows an oral question to the commission by Áder and Romanian László Tokés of the EPP.
Finland is a major gold producer and the country's newest mine in Kittila is the biggest in Europe with a yearly production of 5,000 kg of gold.
Finnish EPP member Sari Essayah said, "I agree that tailings dams such as the one that caused the accident in Baia Mare in 2000 should not be created."
She said, "We have to remember one scientific fact; gold does not dissolve in liquids other than cyanide. Therefore, the extraction process in Kittila also involves cyanide, but in closed processes. I do not support a move to ban the use of cyanide totally but I would certainly encourage strict environmental controls with the best available technology and closed processes."
Speaking after a debate on the issue at the last parliamentary plenary, EU commissioner Cecilia Malmström said the commission shared concerns about cyanide but came out against a ban.
She said, "It is of course a very dangerous toxin and we are aware of that but the commission has drawn conclusions from the terrible accident that happened 10 years ago in Baia Mare."
"The mining waste directive that we have very recently put in place includes a lot of limitations, requirements, restrictions and demands, in order to provide maximum protection as regards the effects on the environment and human health.
"The directive will also reduce the likelihood of such an accident happening again and, should there be an accident, will reduce the possible impact to a great extent. It is therefore extremely important that the directive is duly implemented."
"Given the very stringent requirements of the directive and the absence of adequate alternatives today, a general ban on cyanide use for gold extraction does not, for the moment, seem appropriate.
"However, we are following the issue, we are studying the latest technology development and there will be an evaluation in 2012."
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