TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – The Romanian Supreme Court has annulled a key permit for Gabriel Resources' delayed Rosia Montana gold project, the Toronto-based company said on Tuesday.

The court's decision to annul the company's archaeological discharge certificate “is final, is not appealable” and brings to a close a four-year battle over the validity of the document, Gabriel said in a statement.

The Rosia Montana project has been put on hold until the company can resolve a number of legal and permitting disputes with the government.

Gabriel said on Tuesday that it had not received the reasons for the court's decision, but may take corrective action and reapply for a new certificate.

The archaeological discharge certificate must be obtained for every area in the footprint of the proposed mine, and serves as an acknowledgement that the company has successfully completed an archaeological review of historic mining activity on the site.

In September last year, Romania's Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development suspended the review of the environmental-impact assessment for the project, based on a court challenge by a nongovernmental organisation to the validity of an urbanism certificate.

Although Gabriel maintains the suspension of the review was illegal, the company said two months later that it would retrench up to two-thirds of the full-time staff at the project, and halt activities including land acquisition and engineering and procurement, until the permitting process resumed.

Gabriel holds an 80% stake in the Rosia Montana Gold Corporation, and Romanian State-owned enterprise Minvest SA owns 19,3%.

The mineral resource at Rosia Montana is estimated at 14,6-million ounces of gold, according to the firm's website.

The project has faced opposition in part because of Gabriel's plans to use cyanide mining, but the company maintains that its mine plan will strictly adhere to EU guidelines on the use of cyanide, which were adopted as domestic law in Romania in August this year.

Gabriel shares slid 9,6% on Tuesday morning, to C$1,13 apiece by 11:39 in Toronto.