Speaking on the sidelines of Denver Gold's annual European Gold forum, he said the document proved the project would not cause damage to the environment but reduce existing pollution as well as create jobs in an area of high unemployment.

The project has come under fire from ecologists, rights groups and neighbouring Hungary.

Mining in the Rosia Montana dates back to Roman times and has continued ever since, creating a vast underground network of tunnels that is seeping pollution into the surrounding area.

"We have started the formal environmental permitting process. By mid-May we hope to receive the terms of reference from the government and file by late summer/early fall," Hushovd said.

The study would then have to go through public consultation. Romania's environment minister Sulfina Barbu said in January it was going to be "a long assessment process".

Romania's former government had opposed the project under which the Canadians plan to extract almost 500,000 ounces of gold annually. Hungary has also expressed concern, fearing a repeat of Romania's deadly gold mine cyanide spill in 2000 that devastated a network of rivers.

Gabriel had submitted an EIA in the past, but withdrew it after changes in legislation and Romania's planned accession to the European Union in 2007 complicated the procedure.

The project also requires thousands of villagers to relocate, a time-consuming process due to issues with tracing property records that date back to the start of last century.

Hushovd said Gabriel had managed to trace 87 percent of the records and had so far bought 43 percent of private properties, although it stopped purchasing last summer.

"We want to see some progress in the environmental permit process before continuing," he said.

The project has also come under fire from historians and rights groups who fear damage to nearby archaeological sites.

Gabriel has spent some $8 million funding an archaeological programme and its efforts were lauded in a recent report undertaken by an EU Parliamentary Assembly committee.

"The (project) would appear to provide an economic basis for sustainable development of the whole area with positive benefits on environmental and social as well as cultural grounds," general rapporteur Eddie O'Hara said in the report seen by Reuters.

Hushovd could not give an estimated date for commencing construction of the mine.

"We are not prepared to give a firm estimate until we know what happens with the EIA...we can't proceed much further until we have this," he said.

Gabriel's stock rose sharply last summer when the world's biggest gold producer Newmont bought a 10.2 percent stake in the firm and offered its technical, finance and permitting experts.

"They are a passive investor for the moment...they are not on the board, but if we need their assistance, they will provide it," he said.