Florea Gabrian, C & Turdean, N 2008, 'Closing Baia de Aries Mine in Romania — A New Challenge', in AB Fourie, M Tibbett, I Weiersbye & P Dye (eds), Mine Closure 2008: Proceedings of the Third International Seminar on Mine Closure, Australian Centre for Geomechanics, Perth, pp. 439-449, https://doi.org/10.36487/ACG_repo/852_40
(https://papers.acg.uwa.edu.au/p/852_40_Florea Gabrian/)
Abstract: Mining has a long history in Romania, dating back to 100 years B.C.E., with gold and silver ores being some 
of the country’s riches. Over time, the economically-viable ore reserves became exhausted and the ore mines 
became unprofitable to operate. Due to this situation, the best option for the state was considered to be the 
ecological rehabilitation and closure of these non-profitable mines. The main steps for ecological 
rehabilitation and mine closure are elaboration of the mine closure plan, elaboration of the technical 
project, selection of the entrepreneur, execution of the works, warranty period (two years), and post-closure 
monitoring. All these responsibilities are established by Romanian law, and provide assurance concerning 
project sustainability to all stakeholders concerned. This will be the challenge for more than 450 mines that 
will be closed in Romania over the next 10 years, with a financial provision of approximately  
US$400 million. By way of example, this paper presents the monitoring programme for Baia de Aries Mine, 
where mining activity ceased in 2003. The principles used in developing this monitoring programme will be 
applied in all the mine closure activities in Romania.