Title: Canadian Mining Companies in Rosia Montana, Romania
1. The Change you want to explain
a) Where and when did the change occur?
The change occurred in Rosia Montana, Romania. The fight back against the Canadian mining company, Gabriel Resources, has been ongoing for nearly a two decades.
b) What people, institutions, +/or parts of the natural environment were supposed to change?
Many people want to see an end to the mining project in Rosia Montana, or that it is downsized or see the benefits to the inhabitants of Rosia Montana improved. Other demands include the banning of dangerous cyanide mining practices and a reduction in the size of mines.
c) What was the scale of the intended change?
The scale of the intended change was limited
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A significant portion of the Romanian public supported the residents of Rosia Montana in their fight against Gabriel Resources and the expansion of mines.
c) Which (if any) actors opposed the change?
Gabriel Resources: Gabriel Resources is a resource company focused on permitting and developing controversial Rosia Montana gold and silver project located in Rosia Montana.
Some people within Rosia Montana wanted to have Gabriel Resources buy out their land. Along with these inhabitants of Rosia Montana, who hoped to reap the economic benefits of mining in the region, various Romanian government officials, the Canadian government and some of the Romanian public hoped to see the mine project go forward.
3. The Process or Pathway of Change
Identify and briefly describe the main stages in the process of change, in the order that they occurred:
Gabriel Resources, a small & inexperienced company, started exploration in Romania in 1997 & acquired a Romanian mining license in 1999. Canada’s ambassador & Canadian officials lobby Romanian gov’t for this & other mining projects.
In 2010, a private member’s Bill C-300 on corporate accountability of oil and mining companies in developing countries defeated in House of
...plete report. Before this was done the mine blew up. In the end, the news story that broke was focused on union campaign contributions and not on mine safety.
The tar creek mining site originally was owned by a Native American tribe, the Quapaw. The Quapaw wanted to keep these lands, but the Bureau of Indian Affairs deemed members opposing a transaction to mining companies “incompetent” (1). In such a case the business could continue and the Bureau of Indian Affairs sold the lands to mining companies. In essence these lands were stolen from the Quapaw because they were ripe for mining. These mines were then used from approximately 1891 to 1970. In the 79 years the mines were open 1.7 million metric tons (~3.75 billion pounds) of lead and 8.8 million metric tons (~19.4 billion pounds) of zinc were withdrawn from the mine (2). The entire area around Tar Creek is known as the tri-state mining area. This tri-state area was a massive source of metals. This area accounted for 35% of the all worldwide metal for a decade. It also provided the majority of metals the United States used in World wars I and II (3).
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"Nevada Mining Through the Great Depression and World War 2." Nevada Mining Association. N.p., 9 Feb. 2012. Web. 17 Apr. 2014. .
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Sylva, Seville A. A Thesis-Foreigners in the California Gold Rush. California: University of Southern California. 1932.
I oppose the development of the Chu molybdenum mine because its negative effects extend beyond the site. This mine will affect the quality of life of the residents of Vanderhoof adversely by reducing air and water quality, food sources and revenue. Vanderhoof is a small, geographic centre that supplies food and mineral resources to neighboring cities (BCC, 2009) hence, many of its residents, tourists and neighbors will be directly affected by this project.
It is believe that these rocks came from as far away as 1,400 miles! But we don’t know what the local people at poverty point traded in exchange for their rocks.
...iches? Evidence from the California Gold Rush." The Journal of Economic History 68.04 (2008): 997-1027. Print.
Mining in the Canadian Shield is an issue which should not be taken lightly. Many Canadians are concerned as to how the minerals are mined
A mining community, also known as a mining town or a mining camp, is a community that houses miners. Mining communities are usually created around a mine or a quarry. Many of the Americans dreamed of striking it rich. In 1849 the California Gold rush made that possible for a lot of the dreamers. A lot of people gave up after several years of trying to find nuggets of gold because it wasn’t as glamorous as they thought or hoped it would be. Mining was miserable you get up really early and leave really late at night. The conditions were nasty, there were rats everywhere and it was very dangerous. The miners were mainly scared of the mine caving in but also scared of the gas exploding. They were also really lonely and homesick. To really understand
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eager for more land. After 20 long years of war the Messenians were forced to
Warhurst, A. (1999). Mining and the environment: case studies from the Americas. Ottawa, ON, Canada: International Development Research Centre.
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