Euro Sun Mining agrees MoU for potential USD 400 mln financing for Rovina gold-copper project
Canadian company Euro Sun Mining (TSX: ESM) announced that it had entered into a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), dated September 3, 2026, with Macquarie Bank Limited and Trafigura to “work together on a proposed senior project finance facility of up to USD 400 million” to support the development of its Rovina Valley gold-copper project in Romania.
iulian ernst · Journalist
· 2 min read
A USD 200 million agreement with Trafigura was announced last December, making the new MoU an expansion of the proposed financing.
The Rovina gold-mining project is still without an environmental permit and faces fierce resistance from green NGOs, although it is listed among the European Union’s priority projects for strategic minerals under the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA). A Romanian court, at the request of the Declic Association, referred the case to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), which will have to rule on the public disclosure of environmental documentation related to the project - a matter relevant to the legitimacy of the CRMA itself. The dispute arose from the refusal of the Ministry of Economy (MEDAT) to make public the environmental studies concerning the Rovina mining project. The authorities invoked Article 46 of the Critical Raw Materials Regulation (CRMA, Regulation 1252/2024) to declare the entire procedure confidential. The CJEU must clarify whether this automatic confidentiality is compatible with the Aarhus Convention and EU primary law.
The MoU signed by Euro Sun does not constitute a financing commitment, and any facility remains subject to successful completion of due diligence, internal approvals and the execution of definitive documentation.
Under the MoU, Macquarie and Trafigura will work together during an 18-month mandate period to conduct due diligence, develop a financing structure and seek the internal approvals required to deliver a commitment letter for arranging, syndicating and underwriting the facility.
Separately, Euro Sun has secured cash under a capital contribution agreement with a Trafigura company to continue procedures related to the project. Euro Sun has agreed to a term sheet with Urion Investments Holdings Limited, a Trafigura Group company, for a USD 3 million strategic equity investment, subject to certain conditions. The company said it intends to use the net proceeds of the offering for the Rovina Valley project and general corporate purposes.
The Rovina project, developed by the local company Samax Romania, controlled by Euro Sun Mining, a company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, had obtained environmental approval in 2022, but the administrative act was challenged in court by Declic, an NGO with environmental protection activities. Last spring, the Cluj Court of Appeal decided definitively to cancel the environmental permit.
The Rovina project covers an area of approximately 27.7 square kilometers and comprises three different deposits, Rovina, Colnic and Cireșata, which would be exploited in several phases, over a period of approximately 17 years.
The final feasibility study projects an average gold equivalent production of 146,000 ounces (4.5 tonnes)/year over the first ten years, consisting of 106,000 ounces (3.3 tonnes) of gold and 19 million pounds (9,000 tonnes) of copper per year, at an average total cost of USD 790 per gold equivalent ounce.
