A MCDM Analysis of the Roşia Montană Gold Mining Project

Adriana Mihai, Adina Marincea and Love Ekenberg
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Adriana Mihai: MRC—Median Research Centre, Ion Călin 3, Sector 2, Bucharest 020531, Romania
Adina Marincea: MRC—Median Research Centre, Ion Călin 3, Sector 2, Bucharest 020531, Romania
Love Ekenberg: International Institute of Applied Systems Analysis, IIASA, Schlossplatz 1, Laxenburg A-2361, Austria

Sustainability, 2015, vol. 7, issue 6, 1-28

Abstract: The need and estimated utility for a structured analysis of the Roşia Montană gold exploitation project have been palpable in the Romanian public sphere during the last 15 years and there is a vast amount of conflicting information and opinions on the benefits and risks involved. This article provides a comprehensive decision analysis of the Roşia Montană project. Over 100 documents from the past years have been gathered regarding the Roşia Montană mining project, which cover the main official, formal and less formal documents covering the case and produced by a wide range of stakeholders. These were then analyzed while designing a multi-criteria tree including the relevant perspectives under which the most commonly discussed four alternatives were analyzed. The result of this can be translated into a valuable recommendation for the mining company and for the political decision-makers. If these stakeholders want the continuation of the project and its acceptance by civil society, the key challenge is to increase the transparency of the process and improve the credibility and legal aspects; if these aspects cannot be met, the decision-makers need to pay attention to the alternatives available for a sustainable development in the area.

Keywords: multi-criteria decision analysis; sustainable socio-economic development; gold mining; cyanide-based exploitations; environmental sustainability; mining activities pollution; multi-stakeholder analysis; Roșia Montană mining; mono-industrial regions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:7:y:2015:i:6:p:7261-7288:d:50750

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