Music, entertainment and remembrance of old mining times animated the Miner’s Stadium
The local community is waiting for the mining project to start to foster local development
Roşia Montană, September 3rd, 2012. Over 4,000 people from Apuseni and visitors from all over the country participated on Sunday, September 2nd, in the most important celebration of Rosia Montana: Miner’s Day, which keeps the two-thousand-year mining tradition of the place alive. Miner’s Stadium was animated all day long by music, entertainment and recollections of the old times when mining had turned Rosia Montană into the most thriving community in the area. The event was organized by the Mayoralty and Local Council of Rosia Montană, in partnership with Rosia Montană Gold Corporation (RMGC).
„As in previous years, we have celebrated Miner’s Day properly, thinking of the mining traditions of our community. We are proud to be one of the oldest mining communities in Europe, with a history of close to 2,000 years, and we wish to go back to the welfare that mining brings”, declared Eugen Furdui, the mayor of Rosia Montana. He reminded the government in Bucharest that Rosia Montană is waiting for the approval of the mining project, the only real chance for the revival and development of the area, which will generate jobs and better living conditions for the community.
The Miner’s Day started with a mini football championship, followed by the Transylvanian Cup in rugby, a sport that more and more people like. The celebration continued with a specific mining celebration, where the atmosphere was animated by a host of folk and pop music singers. The miners from Apuseni were entertained by singers such as Mirela Petrean, Tinu Verezezan, Adi Balint, Mirela Mănescu, Nelu Șopterean, Grupul Instrumental „Dor”, „Copiii de Aur”, Corul Minerilor, Deepcentral and the rapper Puya, and the evening ended with a grandiose firework show.
Throughout the day, several hundreds of people participated in the free guided tours of Rosia Montana, organized by Rosia Montană Gold Corporation. The circuits included Cetate pit, the pilot acid water treatment station in Rosia Montana, Cătălina-Monulesti gallery and some of the houses already restored by the company or in the process of restoration in the historical center.
The visits were a good opportunity for the former miners and for the tourists coming from all over the country to remember the period of mining exploitations at Rosia Montană, when there was hardly any unemployment and their families had a good living standard; they all expressed their hope that the start of the mining project will foster development in their community.
„We want this mining project to start as soon as possible, we want to be proud of a modern mine here in the heart of Apuseni Mountains, so that we can have a clean environment and preserve our culture, traditions and heritage. This is what we have been saying for years: mining, the traditional activity defining our identity, should continue in order to ensure the economic, social and cultural development that Rosia Montana needs”, Eugen Furdui emphasized.
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Miner’s Day is an event celebrated every year in the communities with present or former mining exploitations. In 2009, at Rosia Montana, a world record was established, certified by the Guinness Book of Records: the largest number of people simultaneously looking for gold with the buddle – over 100 people participated in setting the world record.
