2015 Minerals Yearbook ROMANIA [ADVANCE RELEASE] U.S. Department of the Interior August 2019 U.S. Geological Survey The Mineral Industry of Romania By John R. Matzko Romania’s mineral production was not significant on a world Romania’s total exports amounted to EUR54.6 billion scale in 2015; however, the country had potentially significant ($60.6 billion)1 in 2015, which was an increase of 4.1% mineral resources for ferrous and nonferrous metals, precious compared with that of 2014. Exported mineral products metals, and salt. After joining the European Union (EU) in were valued at EUR2.6 billion ($2.9 billion) or 4.7% of total 2007, much of the country’s metallic ore mining activities for exports by value, of which petroleum products were valued copper, gold, ferroalloys, and zinc stopped or declined because at EUR1.8 billion ($2 billion). Exported base metals and the country’s mining and mineral processing facilities did not articles thereof were valued at EUR4.7 billion ($5.2 billion), meet EU standards. Romania’s reserves of crude petroleum or 8.6% of total exports. Romania’s total imports amounted to and natural gas were the fourth and fifth largest, respectively, EUR63 billion ($70 billion), which was an increase of 7.6% in Europe. The country had 10 crude petroleum refineries, compared with that of 2014. Imported mineral products were which provided it with one of the largest refining capacities in valued at $4.9 billion (a decrease of 24% compared with the Eastern Europe. As of October, however, only four refineries value in 2014), or 7.0% of total imports by value. Mineral fuels were operational owing to reduced demand for products and and petroleum constituted about 92% of this category and 6.4% international competition. Romania produced principally of total imports. Imports of base metals and articles thereof were alumina, primary and secondary aluminum, cement, coal, valued at EUR6.7 billion ($7.4 billion), or 10.7% of all imports. copper ore, iron ore, lead, and steel (table 1; U.S. Energy Romania’s main export partners were Germany (which received Information Administration, 2014; Dudau, 2015, p. 1; National 19.7% of Romania’s exports); Italy (12.4%); France (6.8%); and Agency for Mineral Resources, 2016a). Hungary (5.4%). In 2015, Romania’s exports of base metals and articles thereof to Germany were valued at $800 million; Italy, Minerals in the National Economy $563 million; Hungary, $313 million; and France, $247 million. Romania’s main import partners were Germany (which provided Romania’s real gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 19.8% of Romania’s imports), Italy (10.9%), Hungary (7.9%), 3.7% in 2015; the nominal GDP was $177 billion. The industrial and France (5.6%) (National Institute of Statistics, 2016a, sector contributed 23.2% to the total GDP, and the construction p. 4, 7, 8, 10, 11, 106–113). sector contributed 7.4%. In 2015, gross industrial production increased by 2.7% compared with that of 2014. The gross Production production index for manufacturing increased by 3.5%; within this sector, the manufacture of nonmetallic mineral products In 2015, the production of several metal commodities increased by 24.1%; that of fabricated metal products (except increased compared with that of 2014. The production of machinery and equipment) increased by 8.7%; and that of basic manganese ore (gross weight) increased by an estimated 129%; metals increased by 3.4%. In 2015, mining and quarrying output pig iron, by 19%; mined copper, by 12.5%; and alumina, by decreased by 12.5%. Mining of coal and lignite increased by 12%. Increased production of industrial minerals included that 8.1%, extraction of crude petroleum and natural gas decreased of soda ash (by 20.5%), lime (10.7%), and cement (10.5%). The by 0.7%, and mining of metal ores increased by 4.8%. At the mineral commodities that had decreases in production compared end of December 2015, the number of people employed in the with that of 2014 were nitrogen as N content of ammonia mining and quarrying sector was 54,700 compared with 59,300 (which decreased by 72%), sand and gravel (by 48.3%), gypsum at the end of December 2014 (National Institute of Statistics, (16.2%), bentonite (13.9%), and steel pipes and tubes (13.3%) 2015, p. 6, 81; 2016b, p. 52, 64; International Monetary (table 1). Fund, 2016). The main law regulating mining activity in Romania was law Structure of the Mineral Industry No. 85/2003 (the Mining Law), which was adopted in 2003, In Romania, all mineral resources are owned by the state. and its implementing rules No. 1208/2003. The Mining Law The National Agency for Mineral Resources (NAMR) was was amended in 2005, 2007, and 2009. The petroleum sector the principal Government organization with regulatory and was regulated by law No. 238/2004 (the Petroleum Law), supervisory authority in the mining and petroleum sectors. adopted in 2004, and its implementing rules No. 2075/2004. State-owned enterprises continued to dominate in the energy An environmental impact assessment (EIA) was necessary to sector, but privatization had been more successful in the acquire a production license. The EIA procedure was regulated industrial mineral sector. At the end of 2013, state-owned by resolution No. 445/2009 and its implementing rules, and the methodology was approved by the Ministry of Environment 1 (Lefter and Iovanesc, 2016; National Agency for Mineral Where necessary, values have been converted from euro area euros (EUR) to U.S. dollars (US$) at an annual average exchange rate of EUR0.9012=US$1.00 Resources, 2016b, c; Pachiu, Mustaciosu, and Dudau, 2016). for 2015. ROMANIA—2015 [ADVANCE RELEASE] 37.1 enterprises constituted 44% of the energy sector and 18% of the in 2015, which would include a new line of froth flotation cells mining and quarrying sector. The offering of a minority stake that would double the company’s production capacity by 2018 in Complexul Energetic Oltenia [Oltenia Energy Complex]— and enrich the copper concentrate from the current 21% to about an integrated coal mining and coal-fired power production 25%; the capacity in 2015 was 36,000 to 48,000 metric tons per company) was rescheduled for 2015 but had been postponed, year of copper concentrate. The company also owned quarries possibly until 2016, owing to legal issues. Table 2 is a list of in the area for production of andesite and limestone, and it had major mineral-related industrial facilities operating in Romania about 530 employees in 2015 (Els, 2011; Alba24.ro, 2014; in 2015 (Marrez, 2015, p. 1, 2; Nuttal, 2015; U.S. Department of Radut, 2015). State, 2015; National Agency for Mineral Resources, 2016d). In July 2015, Vast Resources plc of the United Kingdom acquired a 50.1% interest in Sinarom Mining Group SA, which Commodity Review was a domestic company that operated the Manaila open pit copper-zinc mine in Suceava County. Commercial mining Metals operations under the control of Vast Resources began in August and, at the end of September, the company announced that it Bauxite and Alumina and Aluminum.—Alum S.A. (Alum), had concluded a maiden sale of 450 t of copper concentrate which was a subsidiary of Vimetco N.V. of the Netherlands, with a grade of 21.2%. Work was underway to install an owned the only alumina refinery in Romania. In 2015, the additional flotation line for lead and zinc to separate them from company’s alumina production increased by about 12% to the copper concentrate and improve the quality and quantity of 404,825 metric tons (t) from a revised 362,627 t in 2014. the concentrates. The implied mine life was predicted by the The bauxite used by Alum was provided by Sierra Mineral company to exceed 11 years at a rate of 30,000 metric tons per Holdings 1 Ltd. (a subsidiary of Vimetco in Sierra Leone). The month. Total Joint Ore Reserves Committee (JORC)-compliant bauxite was refined into calcined alumina at Alum’s plant in indicated and inferred mineral resources at the open pit were Tulcea (table 1; Vimetco N.V., 2016, p. 5, 9). 2.6 Mt at grades of 1.0% Cu, 0.9% Zn, and 0.4% Pb at a 0.25% In 2015, primary aluminum produced by Alro S.A. (a Cu cutoff grade. Planned phase 2 and phase 3 operations were to subsidiary of Vimetco in Slatina) increased by 3% to 271,356 t be underground mines, in which total JORC-compliant indicated from 263,098 t in 2014. The production of processed aluminum and inferred mineral resources were 310,000 t at grades of at Alro increased to 102,386 t in 2015 from 98,537 t in 2014. 1.7% Cu, 0.5% Zn, and 0.4% Pb at a 1.0% Cu cutoff grade. The The main markets for Vimetco’s Romanian production were company employed an average of 66 people during 2015 (Vast Germany, Poland, Romania, and Spain, which together Resources plc, 2015b, c; 2016, p. 2, 4, 35). accounted for about 84% of sales. Primary aluminum was sold Vast Resources also held an 80% interest in the Baita mainly on the Romanian market owing to lower transportation Plai underground polymetallic mine located in the Apuseni costs. At the end of 2015, Alro signed a $60 million CAPEX Mountains. The mine was put on care-and-maintenance status agreement with the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank, in 2013 owing to lack of investment and modernization, which which enabled Alro to continue its investment program.