Canadian mining company Euro Sun Mining has signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Macquarie Bank and Trafigura for a potential senior project finance facility of up to $400mn to develop its Rovina Valley gold-copper project in Romania, the company announced.

The MoU, dated September 3 and announced on September 9, expands on a $200mn financing agreement with Trafigura announced by Euro Sun in December 2025. The proposed facility remains subject to due diligence, internal approvals and the execution of definitive financing documentation.

Under the MoU, Macquarie and Trafigura will work with Euro Sun during an 18-month mandate period to conduct due diligence, develop the financing structure and seek approvals needed to issue a commitment letter for arranging, syndicating and underwriting the facility.

The Rovina project, which is listed among the European Union’s priority projects for strategic minerals under the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), has yet to receive an environmental permit. It has also faced opposition from environmental groups.

A Romanian court, following a request by environmental group Declic, referred a case concerning the disclosure of environmental documentation for Rovina to the Court of Justice of the European Union. The dispute followed the Ministry of Economy’s refusal to disclose environmental studies, citing confidentiality provisions under Article 46 of the Critical Raw Materials Regulation.

The CJEU is expected to determine whether the confidentiality provisions applied to the project are compatible with the Aarhus Convention and EU primary law, Declic explained.

Euro Sun also said it had secured cash through a capital contribution agreement with a Trafigura company to continue procedures related to the project. Euro Sun has agreed a term sheet with Urion Investments Holdings, a Trafigura Group company, for a $3mn strategic equity investment, subject to conditions. The company said the net proceeds would be used for the Rovina Valley project and general corporate purposes.

The Rovina Valley project is located in Romania’s Hunedoara County and is intended to produce gold and copper, two raw materials used across industrial and strategic value chains.

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 kilometres 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 $790 per gold equivalent ounce.