This Canadian company wants to revitalize a historic Romanian community by building a new mining operation.

In Western Romania, the Rosia (red) River flows. It’s aptly named; thanks to an estimated 2,000 years of uncontrolled and irresponsible mining in the resource-rich area around the small villages of Rosia Montana, acid and heavy metals have been pumped into the river for centuries, giving it its lasting, distinct color.

Now, an unlikely organization is working to clean up the long-abused, impoverished region and create an industry that will serve as a catalyst for sustainable development: Canadian mining company Gabriel Resources.

“I’ve built all kinds of mines in my career, but there’s one kind of mine I’ve never built—and never want to: That’s a mine that doesn’t benefit the community around it,” said Gabriel Resources president and CEO Alan Hill in a statement.

Gabriel’s planned Rosia Montana project has drawn the attention—and the ire—of various environmental groups in Europe and around the world. For the most part, they scoff at Hill’s often-cited quote, believing instead the massive new mining project will have a drastically negative impact on the environment and the people of the region.

Given the dark history of mining operations at Rosia Montana, it’s not surprising that critics are concerned. But Gabriel Resources has gone above and beyond in its investment in the project, committing millions of dollars to create an industry rarity—a socially and ecologically responsible mine.

Clean up
Headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Gabriel Resources, through a joint venture with the Romanian government, owns 80% of Rosia Montana’s mineral rights. That 80% translates into potential billions when you consider the site contains reserves estimated at 15 million ounces of gold and 65 million ounces of silver—arguably the largest deposit in Europe.

It’s a wonder the region is still so mineral rich. Since the days of Caesar, workers have been digging into the earth at Rosia Montana in search of gold. Most recently, the Romanian government subsidized an open pit mining operation there, finally shutting it down in 2006. Rosia’s ramshackle villages and red river stand as the legacy of the historic mining operations.

But mining technology and techniques have come a long way, and Gabriel Resources plans to use cyanide to extract pure gold from the low-density, widely distributed ore at the site. It’s this technique that is stirring much of the debate at Rosia Montana. Environmentalists cite a remark from former Romanian Prime Minister Adrian Nastase: No one stands to gain from mining but outsiders, who “will take the gold and leave the cyanide.”

But Gabriel Resources doesn’t just plan to mine the resources at Rosia Montana, it has pledged to clean up the deplorable and dangerous conditions that have been created by the 2,000 years of mining. Gabriel Resources “will bring to Rosia Montana the very wealth, manpower, and technologies needed to restore the area to ecological health,” company materials state. “Even as the company is mining new areas, it will be cleaning past water pollution caused by the poor mining practices of earlier eras that—given the overwhelming demands on the revenues of the Romanian government—would otherwise be left as they are.”

Among the best practices Gabriel will apply is a management plan for the safe use, transport, and destruction of cyanide. Following standards set by the United Nations Environmental Program and the International Cyanide Management Code, Gabriel will use technologies that reduce cyanide concentrations to below the level designated by the European Union as safe. Further, the company has entered into a legally binding environmental reclamation agreement with the state and local government. The organization won’t just clean up the mess created by mines of the past; it will clean up after itself.

Community development
Most important to the roughly 4,000 people living in the region, Gabriel Resources’ plans will create jobs and inject some much-needed revenue into an area that’s officially designated by the government as a “disadvantaged zone.”

Advanced schooling and medical care are scarce in the village, homes are heated with wood, and there is little in the way of infrastructure. Roughly 70% of the population is unemployed, and 75% are in favor of the new mine.

Along with the roughly 1,200 new jobs the mine will create, Gabriel has committed to a comprehensive community development initiative. A new village will be built to house residents displaced by mining operations, combining modern facilities with the traditional architecture of the local community. A social program will help disadvantaged residents, and a professional development training program is already underway—more than 600 people have been trained in areas directly related to the core business of the company. Gabriel will also launch a micro-credit lending institution in order to encourage growth of the local economy—a project that is critical to sustainable development.

If approved (the Romanian government is expected to make its final decision this summer), mining operations are expected to begin in 2009 and last roughly 20 years. In total, Gabriel estimates $2.5 billion will be invested into the local economy. And if all goes according to plan, Gabriel Resources will leave an environmentally healthy, developing community with a river that no longer runs red.