Rosia Montana, 18.December 2005 – Alburnus Maior has learnt that Gabriel Resources is trying to buy NGO support for its so-called ‘Social and Economic Plan’ which will form part of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) study for the Rosia Montana gold mine project. During these meetings Gabriel Resources tries to persuade NGOs that if they support the Social and Economic Plan they will later receive project funding.

Rosia Montana, 18.December 2005 – Alburnus Maior has learnt that Gabriel Resources is trying to buy NGO support for its so-called ‘Social and Economic Plan’ which will form part of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) study for the Rosia Montana gold mine project. During these meetings Gabriel Resources tries to persuade NGOs that if they support the Social and Economic Plan they will later receive project funding.

Gabriel Resources (TSX:GBU) is a small, under-resourced and inexperienced Canadian mining company which plans to uproot the people of Rosia Montana to realize Europe's largest open-cast gold mine. The American mining giant Newmont (NTSE: NEM) holds an 18.8% stake in Gabriel Resources (‘Gabriel’). From the outset the venture has been beleaguered by scandals, operational problems and vehement local, national and international opposition. According to public opinion polls (i.e. Ziua, OTV) the percentage of Romanians opposed to Gabriel’s mining development ranges between 95% and 98%.

According to Dan Craioveanu of ‘Strawberry Net’, a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) which participated in such a recent meeting with Gabriel representatives most of the discussions were centered around the opposition to the project: “Gabriel was making aggressive allegations against the opposition and Alburnus Maior in particular; claiming that they are Nazis, that they have more money than one could ever imagine and that they corrupt judges.