Is Cyanide in Its Autumn Hours? Greener Gold and the International Implications of a Romanian Ban on Cyanide

One thing is becoming evident as these protests gain greater voice and force: more and more Romanians do not want cyanide poured into their ecosystems and patrimony, let alone at a rate of 40 tons per day. Gabriel Resources and its subsidiary the Rosia Montana Gold Corporation, not to mention the Romanian government (as well as much of the domestic media reporting on the subject) have stressed that cyanide is so heavily regulated in the European Union that its toxicity is effectively regulated out of the equation. One of the key arguments against a ban on cyanide is the lack of economically viable alternatives.
To contextualize this narrative a bit, it is worth recalling that these stringent EU requirements are partly the result of one of the worst ecological disasters in modern history, the 2000 Baia Mare cyanide spill. This disaster, which has been likened to Chernobyl, occurred in Romania itself, with repercussions felt around Eastern Europe.
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