Ponta said the project has been politicized by the "inadmissible" involvement of President Traian Basescu, who has no constitutional prerogatives in the matter and is driven only by his personal interest.
The social democrat leader added that USL will use every legal means to have the contract between Romania and the Rosia Montana Gold Corporation declassified, and will run independent evaluations on the benefits and cost to the state, arguing that Basescu and his advisers have provided false information.
USL will also request data from international stock exchanges to determine the actual owners of shares in the company, their interests and the way promotion funds were used in Romania, said Ponta.
Furthermore, USL will not vote for the mining law, which has passed the Senate and is to be debated by the Chamber of Deputies, unless it meets their above-stated demands.
Rosia Montana Gold Corporation (RMGC), a joint venture consisting of Canada's Gabriel Resources and the Romanian state, is developing the mining project at Rosia Montana, in the western Apuseni Mountains, with projected costs reaching more than $1 billion.
Gabriel Resources owns 80.46% of RMGC, while the Romanian state (19.31%) and other shareholders (0.23%) control the rest.
Romanian environmental NGOs have been protesting the project, which involves cyanide mining, since it was put on the table in the 1990s and have proposed to promote tourism and agriculture in the otherwise poor area.
Prime Minister Emil Boc has said he is not a fan of the gold mining project and the the current contract should be reconsidered, as it is not the most advantageous for the Romanian state.
President Basescu, however, has voiced strong support for the continuation of the project and has also called for a renegotiation of the sharing of benefits.
Strategy & Technology PUBLYO
Marketing & Sales Q2M