November 12 (SeeNews) - Romania's government has approved the mining licence of Canadian exploration and development company Euro Sun for its Rovina Valley gold and copper project, the company said on Monday.
The company will now undertake the environmental and social impact assessment and will also continue the feasibility study accelerating the Rovina Valley project towards a construction decision, Euro Sun said in a press release.
"The importance of this ratification cannot be overstated. Romania has now demonstrated an open and willing embrace for mining investment, one that is sure to attract significant interest not only in the Rovina Valley project but for mining investment globally in Romania," Euro Sun chairman Stan Bhart said.
In May 2015, Euro Sun received a mining licence from the National Agency for Mineral Resources for the Rovina Valley project, in west-central Romania, but the licence needed to be ratified by the ministries of environment, economy, justice and finance, and then published in the government gazette.
"As the first non-state-owned entity to have a ratified mining license, we are committed to developing the Rovina Valley project as an example of responsible mining to the highest environmental standards, and in the process, provide meaningful economic impact to our local community partners and to the Romanian state," Euro Sun president and CEO G. Scott Moore said.
Euro Sun said that the preliminary economic assessment (PEA) in 2010 outlined a robust project with an average annual gold production of 196,000 ounces over 19 years with the first five years of production averaging 238,000 oz annually. In addition, the PEA indicated that the Rovina Valley project would produce 49.4 million pounds ($63.4 million/56.3 million) annually.
The Rovina Valley project spreads on an area of 27.68 sq km approximately 300 km northwest of Bucharest. It hosts the second largest gold deposit in Europe, with measured and indicated mineral resources of 10.84 million ounces of gold equivalent, according to the company's own data.
Euro Sun is a Toronto Stock Exchange-listed mining company focused on the exploration and development of its 100%-owned Rovina Valley gold and copper project.
Formerly known as Carpathian Gold, Euro Sun changed its brand identity in September 2016.
(1 GBP=1.1403 euro)