This thesis carries the title: The anti-mining community from Rosia Montana using

tourism as a tool against a mining project; a new use of tourism. As the name
suggests it, the focus in this thesis is on the phenomenon of making a stand against
a corporation and their plans of extracting the natural resources, by using tourism
as one of the tools to achieve that.
In the past decades, it has been a considerable growth in the cases when
corporations are going into specific areas with the plans of exploiting the regions
resources. These resources may vary from petrol and gas to diamonds and gold, for
example (World Gold Council, 2009).
This has been generating attention from mass-media and also from the general
public due to the fact that most of the time the inhabitants of those areas are
making a stand in one way or another. These people, made the corporations
understand that they do not want these exploitation projects through protests, law
suits and so on. In places such as Kremnica/Slovakia, where in 2014 these acts
managed to push away the Eldorado Gold Company which tried to exploit the gold
from the city surroundings (Ban Cyanide, 2014) or in 2012 in Bulgaria where people
managed to ban Chevron Corporations plans of exploiting the shale gas through
hydraulic fracturing (BBC, 2012). But not all of the communities which were facing
this, managed to push the corporations away. Cases such as in Cajamarca/Peru
(gold mine) or Madibeng/South Africa (platinum mine) (Infomine, 2014), are a proof
that the communitys resistance through law suits, protests and national awareness
campaigns were not enough to stop these sorts of projects.
This is the reason why communities have started creating new ways of showing
their disapproval towards such projects. Some of them call in or receive support
from international NGOs which can help them create a better resistance by making
documentaries or informational campaigns throughout the globe such as in the case
of Congo Basin or in New Guinea where WWF is working with local community and
their international network to stop the mining in these regions (WWF, 2015) or the
NGO Cultural Survival which is working with local communities (at their invitation)
from Mexico, New Zeeland and from South America to fight natural resources
extraction projects (Cultural Survival, 2015). But the most recent one is when

communities manage to create tourism in these places with the hope to protect
their lands and to stop the exploitation projects.
In parts of the Brazilian Amazonian forest, environmental organizations are taking
tourists for walks through the rain forest as a sign against logging companies and in
Peru communities have used the knowledge of other NGOs to create small trips in
the nature for students were mining sites were proposed (Amazon Watch, 2014).
Moreover, a strong case where a community is using tourism in order to protect
their ancestral lands from oil extraction is in the south-eastern part of Ecuador. The
Kapawi Eco-lodge provides 20 cabins for tourists which are interested in the biodiversity and provides a gateway to the Amazon Basin rainforest, one of the largest
biodiversity on the planet. Because of its biodiversity the Achuar tribe, which is
living in that area, is trying to protect it from the oil exploitation. The Kapawi Ecolodge has in its staff 65 % employees who are coming from this tribe, but the lodge
is not just supporting the local economy and provides work beyond living off the
land but is also financing the Achuars struggle. Money is given to the Nationality of
Achuar Ecuador (NAE) federation which are using these funds to help protect its
people and to campaign the prevent oil extraction in the area.
In a short interview made by Amazon Watch, the director of the eco-lodge, Mr
Callera said that: We are optimistic we can run the eco-lodge. The Achuar do not
want the rainforest destroyed and this is the best way to protect the environment
and ourselves. This form of stopping the exploitation seems to be working in this
region due to the fact that ConocoPhilips, a large US-based oil producer, declared in
2007 that the region is no longer part of their strategy. Other companies are still
trying to extract the 8 million barrels of crude oil still under the Ecuadorian land
(Sturdey, 2007).
But a community which is showing a stronger use of tourism against an extractive
corporation is in Rosia Montana village from Romania. As a proof, in 2010 the
number of people visiting this destination, was approximated by the police to reach
10 000 (Mihail, The tourism from Rosia Montana, 2014). The 25 families involved in
the tourism, have managed to create a festival (Fan Fest) which has been taking
place during August for the past 8 years and also has managed to attract national
and international tourists by providing them different activities such as trekking,

volunteer work, crafting, and special events such as for Easter, Christmas and New
Years Eve. The tourists are being accommodated in the locals houses or in their
back yard where they can set up their tents. (VizitatiRosiaMontana, 2014).
The mining project which was proposed by Gabriel Resources in 1997, together with
its company daughter Rosia Montana Gold Corporation (RMGC) aims to extract 330
tons of gold and 1600 tons of silver stored in the 4 mountains which surrounds the
village, and it would become the largest open pit mining site from Europe. To extract
this amount, RMGC has proposed to use the cyanide leaching (the cheapest method
of mineral extraction). This means that the 4 mountains surrounding the village
would have to be grinded all the way to the point when the rock is transformed into
very thin sand which would almost have the same texture as flower. After the rock is
grinded, the cyanide leaching process intervenes and is taking out the silver and
the gold (to put it in other words, this process would be the same as extracting the
sugar out of the coffee).
The project has been under serious debate for more than 14 years. Since the first
signs of intentions towards exploiting the gold and the silver from this place, the
village has been experiencing national and international attention, disputes
between protesters against the project and the corporation; the mining proposal
even managed to split the community from this place into two opposite camps
(which are pro or against the mining) and even families were set apart because of
this controversial project.
One of the crucial elements for the corporation to start mining is to be owners over
the whole land which is in the mining plan, 1346 ha to be more precise. Since 1999
and up to present, RMGC has been buying properties from R.M. and now they are
holding 80 % out of the villages area. The reason for not being able to purchase all
the properties from the village is because the corporation has met a serious and
strong resistance from a part of the people within the village.
As stated before, the mining project managed to split the community into 2 camps.
The camp which is not in favor of the project, together with several activists from
the country established the local NGO, Alburnus Maior. The main objective of the
NGO is to gather all 25 families which decided not to sell their properties and to
make sure that the mining project will not start.

Since 28th July 2002 its establishment, Alburnus Maior had dedicated their time and
effort in protecting their homes from the corporation. They have made it clearly that
they will not sell their properties and they will not leave their homes. They are
constantly working with NGOs and other organizations across Romania and Europe,
in order to reach their goals. Some of these organizations are Europa Nostra,
ICOMOS and the Romanian Architecture and Rehabilitation Association (ARA).
Besides stopping the mining project to become reality they are also working in
providing alternative development strategies for the village. They are aiming to
make tourism and agriculture as the main development engine for the people living
there. Moreover, through these aims they also want to rehabilitate and to preserve
the natural and cultural heritage of Rosia Montana.
Those 25 families that are still standing against the mining project received help
from activists around Romania and also from outside of the country. Being helped by
these activists and through their network they have built throughout the years, the
families have managed to create national and international awareness about the
negative impacts of the project and the importance of safeguarding the villages
cultural heritage. Also through their help, the anti-mining community managed to
build the tourism activities which are helping them in creating a better resistance
towards RMGC.
For such tremendous exploitation projects, the main impediment has always been
the people; as it has been shown in Slovakia and Bulgaria. This is why Alburnus
Maior is using tourism in their struggle (together with the methods used in these
countries) so that they can make a greater resistance towards the corporation and
its intentions.
Because of these facts, this thesis will be a research into Rosia Montanas locals that
are using tourism for trying to block the mining project that may negatively impact
their community and its surroundings, in order to identify how this subgroup is using
tourism in order to achieve that.