Process Spans 6 Weeks, 16 Meetings, and 2 Countries CEO Hails "Unprecedented" Degree of Disclosure and Consultation TSX Trading Symbol: GBU BUCHAREST, Romania, Aug. 30 /CNW/ - With yesterday's meeting in Budapest, Hungary, the series of 16 public meetings under the Public Disclosure and Consultation Process (PDCP) as set forth by the Romanian Government - has now come to a close. In all, the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Rosia Montana Project was presented for public discussion at 14 meetings across Romania and two sessions in Hungary. Under the Espoo Convention, large-scale projects with potential trans-boundary impact must allow for neighboring nations to put comments and questions forward during the permitting process. In the case of the Rosia Montana Project, Hungary was the only neighboring nation to take part in the process. "Everyone on our team is proud to have participated in what is truly unprecedented for Romania," noted Alan R. Hill, President and CEO of Gabriel Resources. "As the country prepares to accede to the European Union, this was the first time for a project to be held up to such intense public scrutiny, from the expert and the average person alike." The 16 public meetings averaged 4 to 5 hours each, with the sessions in Bucharest and Cluj running 11 and 12 hours, respectively. Attendance averaged 500 people per meeting, with a single-meeting peak of 1,000. Commenting on the consistent showing of strong community support, Hill termed the PDCP participation of village residents from Rosia Montana as critical. "Rosia Montana has been a mining community for over 2000 years - until 2006. This year, the state-run mine in Rosia closed down, under preparations for EU membership. Unemployment has gone past 70%. There is no alternative to save the village except to build our new mine. For people from the village to have a chance to attend the public meetings in which their fate and their future is at stake is absolutely critical." "From time to time at various meetings, we saw a small group of die-hard opposers try to disrupt the PDCP, derail debate and shut down the process," commented Hill. "But it didn't work. And that's a tribute to every individual and organization involved, who understands that public disclosure and dialogue is the way we progress in democratic societies." "We've now ended the public meetings," continued Hill, "but our commitment to public consultation is ongoing, lasting as long as we operate our mine." Next Steps Under Way With the completion of the public hearings, the Romanian Ministry of the Environment passes back to the Company all issues requiring a response. That response is returned to the Government in the form of an Annex to the EIA. "Our approach is to be pro-active," said Hill. "Our internal team and the independent EIA experts have been analyzing issues raised in the public meetings, beginning with the first meeting in Rosia on July 24, and preparing our initial response. We will square up our preliminary assessments with the formal questions as we receive them from the Ministry." The Annex to the EIA is submitted to the Romanian Government Technical Analysis Committee (TAC). The Romanian Government makes the final determination on EIA approval. The Company continues to expect approval of the Rosia Montana EIA in the fourth quarter of this year, with construction commencing in the spring of 2007. About Gabriel Gabriel is a Canadian based resource company committed to responsible mining and sustainable development in the communities in which it operates. Gabriel is currently engaged in the exploration and development of mineral properties in Romania and is presently engaged in the development of its 80% owned Rosia Montana gold project.