Golden Quadrilateral Research Articles

Zircon Petrochronology of Au-Rich Porphyry and Epithermal Deposits in the Golden Quadrilateral (Apuseni Mountains, Romania)

Abstract The Golden Quadrilateral of the Apuseni Mountains (Romania) represents the richest Au(-Cu-Te) porphyry and epithermal district of Europe and the Western Tethyan metallogenic belt. The Au(-Cu-Te) mineralization is associated with Neogene calc-alkaline magmatism along graben structures growing during the late stages of the Alpine-Carpathian orogeny. We use zircon petrochronology to study the time-space distribution, sources, composition, and timescales of the Au(-Cu-Te)-mineralizing magmatism and explore its link to regional tectonics. Our own and published U-Pb zircon ages document ore-forming magmatic activity between ~13.61 and 7.24 Ma. In combination with available paleomagnetic data, the new zircon ages corroborate the hypothesis that the magmatism in the Golden Quadrilateral evolved in a tectonic environment dominated by major (up to 70°) crustal block rotation. Hafnium isotope composition of Neogene zircon (εHf between –2 and 10) supports the predominant origin of the magmas from a heterogeneous lithospheric mantle, which may have been fertilized during an earlier Cretaceous subduction event and possibly by concurrent Miocene subduction. Xenocrystic zircon shows involvement of crustal sources resembling European continental basement. Fertility indicators, including Eu/Eu* and oxygen fugacity based on zircon composition, show no systematic correlation with the mineralizing events and/or age. High-precision (isotope dilution-thermal ionization mass spectrometry) U-Pb zircon geochronology demonstrates that the magmatic systems exposed at district scale evolved over less than ~100 k.y. and that durations of hydrothermal mineralization pulses were even shorter.

Boosted income, busted environment: a tradeoff in the wider economic impacts of transport corridor investments?

AbstractThe literature on the impacts of transport corridors points to a tradeoff between income and environmental quality. We estimate the impacts of India's Golden Quadrilateral and North-South-East-West highways on income and environmental quality to test this tradeoff hypothesis. Applying the difference-in-difference method to district level data, we find that the highways increased both local income and particulate matter air pollution. The estimated increase in air pollution is robust to using an instrumental variables approach, while that in income is not. Examining heterogeneity in these impacts, we find that the income–environment tradeoff was less steep in districts with initially higher educational attainment rates because they experienced a smaller increase in air pollution due to the highways.

JUE insight: Infrastructure and Finance: Evidence from India’s GQ highway network

We use data from Reserve Bank of India to study the impact of India’s Golden Quadrilateral (GQ) highway project on finance-dependent activity. Loan volumes increase by 20%–30% in districts along GQ and are stronger in industries more dependent upon external finance. Loan growth begins with increases in average branch size and in places with more pre-GQ loan activity. New branch openings come later, consistent with short-run adjustment costs to expanding branch networks. These patterns are not evident in placebo tests using delayed investments in NS-EW highways. Results suggest the depth of initial financial infrastructure shapes how infrastructure investments impact localities.

Intranational trade costs, product scope and productivity: Evidence from India's Golden Quadrilateral project

We examine the potential for a reduction in intranational trade costs to increase firm pro-ductivity. Recent trade theories highlight a channel through which this increase may occur – a reduction in trade costs increases competition and leads firms to drop the products in which they are least efficient. We provide empirical evidence for this prediction in the context of an exogenous reduction in intranational trade costs induced by a highway construction project in India. We find that product scope falls and firm productivity rises in response to the construction of the highway. We also find that the products dropped are those that account for the lowest shares of the firm's output.

Preliminary Assessment of the Geological and Mining Heritage of the Golden Quadrilateral (Metaliferi Mountains, Romania) as a Potential Geotourism Destination

The Metaliferi Mountains (Western Romania) are known worldwide as the richest gold region in Romania and hosts for numerous porphyry and epithermal deposits. In these mountains, mining for gold dates back to Roman and even pre-Roman times. The Golden Quadrilateral constitutes a remarkable example of an area having a significant geological and mining heritage. The main purposes of this work are to emphasize this heritage, to present, for the first time, an assessment of the geological and mining heritage of the Golden Quadrilateral as a possible geotourism destination, and to point out the important role that geotourism could have in the sustainable development of local communities. To achieve our goals, the features of thirteen sites are presented, and two geotourism itineraries are proposed. A quantitative assessment of the geosites’ capacity to support scientific, educational, and geotourism/recreational uses indicates that the Golden Quadrilateral presents a high potential not only for scientific studies but, also, for enhancement of the public understanding of science; geotourism could be part of the development strategy of rural areas. The two museums (Gold Museum and Gold Mining Museum) can have an important contribution both to the geo-education of visitors and in promoting the sustainable development of the region.

Comparative study on air quality status in Golden Quadrilateral cities before and during the COVID-19 lock down period.

The COVID-19 pandemics have affected every aspect of the human race and the world economy. The disease has been contaminated in almost every part of India. A threat for poor standards induced premature mortality from cardiovascular disease and respiratory diseases. Amongst the huge-reaching implications of the continuing COVID-19 outbreak, a significant enhancement in air quality was detected all around the globe after lockdowns enforced in several cities in India. The lockdown influenced the environment’s pollution level and improved air quality quickly due to very few human activities. The present work scientifically analyses the air pollutants (PM2.5, PM10, NO2, and SO2) with meteorological parameters in the golden quadrilateral cities. The purpose of this paper is to review the analysis of air quality of golden quadrilateral cities (Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, and Mumbai). Data of air quality parameters are collectively taken from different locations from different regions of Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, and Mumbai before lockdown and during the lockdown and compared the data of both periods. Comparison pre-lockdown and 2019 with respect to lockdown and 2020 respectively show a huge reduction in amounts of pollutants. Our objective is to find the implication of different lockdown measures on air quality levels in Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, and Mumbai particularly this investigation is focused on PM2.5, PM10, NO2, SO2 which is directly transmitted by human action and formed through a chemical reaction in the atmosphere as well as quantify the short-range and long-range health impact.

Преодолевая постколониальные границы: большая колесная дорога в современной перспективе

The essay calls for a re-imagining and reshaping of colonial constructs. It concisely encapsulates the history of the Grand Trunk Road (GT Road), from the 16th century when it was referred to as ‘Sadak-e-Azam’ to the late 19th century, when the road was completed under the administration of Lord William Bentinck and was renamed as ‘The Grand Trunk Road’ to contemporary times when it connects multiple cities with National Highways as part of the Golden Quadrilateral project and remains a ‘continuum’ that covers a distance of over 2,500 kilometres. While highlighting its importance in terms of its criticality as a geopolitical/strategic connect, the essay concludes on the note that there is much more to the GT Road than being a mere logistical, infrastructural tool. It serves as a political and cultural connect as well as embodies a way of life and these historic and organic connections require reinforcement. The essay underlines the symbolic value of the GT Road, while it comprises the mainstay of commerce in the subcontinent but, at the same time is significant in terms of rearranging social and political hierarchies, in other words, it constitutes an intrinsic part of the broader narrative of the south Asian space.

The Modeling of dams’ Stability Considering a Seismic Solicitation for the Tailings Ponds

The activities associated to the mining industry are a major source of risk to the environment, but especially for the local community. In Romania, mining of precious metals (gold, silver and copper) have changed the landscape permanently, having a profound impact both locally and regionally. To determine the behavior of the material inside the tailings ponds dams in case of a major seismic event, two ponds were chosen as study cases, both belonging to Rosia Montana mining region: Valea Salistei tailings pond and Gura Rosiei tailings pond. Rosia Montana mining region is one of the most important Romanian mining regions is the Golden Quadrilateral of the Apuseni Mountains, which it delivered over time significant quantities of nonferrous metals, especially gold and silver. For the two study cases the dams' stability was evaluated by classical methods (analytical and numerical), each method using two hypothesis: static and pseudo-static (seismic). The aim of the study is to monitoring the values of the safety factors when the dams of the tailings ponds are affected by an major seismic event and to observe the potential sliding surfaces through the dam's body, the shear deformations distribution and the total displacements and distribution from the resulted graphics on two random sections chosen for each of the case studies.

Competition and the Welfare Gains from Transportation Infrastructure: Evidence from the Golden Quadrilateral of India

Abstract A significant amount of resources is spent every year on the improvement of transportation infrastructure in developing countries. In this paper, we investigate the effects of one such large project, the Golden Quadrilateral in India. We do so using a model of internal trade with variable markups. In contrast to the previous literature, our model incorporates several channels through which transportation infrastructure affects welfare. In particular, the model accounts for gains stemming from improvements in the allocative efficiency of the economy. We calibrate the model to the Indian manufacturing sector and find real income gains of 2.7%. We also find that allocative efficiency accounts for 7.4% of these gains. The importance of allocative efficiency varies greatly across states, and can account for up to 18% of the overall gains in some states. The remaining welfare gains are accounted for by changes in labor income, productive efficiency, and average markups that affect states’ terms of trade.

Competition and the Welfare Gains from Transportation Infrastructure: Evidence from the Golden Quadrilateral of India

A significant amount of resources is spent every year on the improvement of transportation infrastructure in developing countries. In this paper, we investigate the effects of one such large project, the Golden Quadrilateral in India, on the income and allocative efficiency of the economy. We do so using a quantitative model of internal trade with variable markups. We find real income gains of 2.71% in the aggregate and that allocative efficiency accounts for 8% of these gains. The importance of allocative efficiency varies greatly across states, and can account for up to 19% of the overall gains. Thus, allocative efficiency can play an important role in determining both the size and distribution of gains from new infrastructure.

Comment on “Infrastructure and Connectivity in India: Getting the Basics Right”

In India, infrastructure facilities such as roads, railways, ports, power stations, and information and communications technology (ICT) have not been developed sufficiently to catch up with India's rapid economic growth. Inefficient infrastructure has been pointed out as being a supply-side bottleneck. India must improve both its hard and soft infrastructure. The central government doubled its investment in the infrastructure sector from $US 500 billion in the 11th Five Year Plan (2007–2008 to 2011–2012) to $USD 1 trillion in the 12th Five Year Plan (2012–2013 to 2016–2017). But the investment is not enough to meet infrastructure financing. Public–private partnerships (PPP) were encouraged to mobilize more savings from the private sector. Commercial banks and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) have been the two major source of non-budget debt financing for infrastructure projects. The share of infrastructure in gross bank credit rose from 6% in March 2007 to 11% in March 2011. However, banks face asset liability mismatches because they finance long-term infrastructure loans through deposits of a shorter maturity. Moreover, the share of gross non-performing loans (NPL) and restructured standard advances to the infrastructure sector in total advances to the sector increased from 5.1% in March 2010 to 22.8% in March 2015. Banks are reluctant to extend credit to the infrastructure sector. The total resources of NBFCs are limited because they are not deposit taking institutions. The private sector cannot depend on banks and NBFCs to expand investment in infrastructure projects. Singh and Kathuria (2016) recommend a strengthening of the bond market and mobilizing insurance and pension funds through the bond market to finance private investment in infrastructure. In India, PPP projects fell in the 12th Five Year Plan period. Many projects have suffered large time and cost overruns, and they have been unable to meet expectations regarding transparency and accountability. Many large infrastructure companies have accumulated debt. As the net debt of Indian infrastructure companies increased from 3 trillion rupees in 2010 to over 6 trillion rupees in 2014, private investment in infrastructure decreased from over $US 70 billion to less than $US 20 billion during the same period (Wall Street Journal 2015). While the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has awarded contracts for 8000 km of national highways in 2014–2015, only about 700 km was awarded on build-operate-transfer (BOT) (Live Mint 2015). Infrastructure development through PPPs has reached a dead end. It seems that infrastructure financing as well as the institution of PPPs might have some problems. Singh and Kathuria (2016) conclude that “the first and foremost goal of involvement of the private sector should be to achieve efficiency gains as compared to purely procurement”. The PPP framework should be rebuilt to promote PPP projects. PPP is a good strategy to construct, operate, and maintain infrastructure facilities efficiently. However, the purpose of private companies is profit maximization. It is not always consistent with the optimization at the national level due to the fallacy of composition. Airport and port projects can attract private investment easily because investors can expect stable international standard income from foreign customers. The private sector might actively invest in infrastructure development in urban areas because it can expect enough income from users to recover the investment. On the other hand, the private sector might hesitate to invest in a sector where it cannot expect enough profits. The private sector can compensate the public sector but it cannot substitute for it. In order to develop infrastructure, the government must take the initiative in both investment and planning. This does not conflict with PPP, but might encourage it. Although huge fiscal deficits have constrained the increase of public investment in infrastructure, investment from the private sector will not be induced without it. The Golden Quadrilateral connecting the four major cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata, and the North-South and East-West corridors have almost been completed. Their costs were funded largely by the government's special petroleum product tax revenues and government borrowing. The project tried to upgrade, rehabilitate and widen major highways. In 2015–2016 the government proposed a hybrid annuity model, which provided fiscal support from the government and took away the traffic risk from the investor. Consequently, the government received more bids in 2015–2016 (Live Mint 2015). Without government support and initiative, the private sector which has accumulated debt will not invest in infrastructure even if they get finance. Second, a master plan for infrastructure should be produced to make efficient logistics from the viewpoint of the national economy and to express sector-wise and area-wise priorities. Scarce government resources should be allocated according to the plan. Priorities expressed by the government may give a good signal to the private sector and encourage investment in the high priority projects. High priority should be given to projects which might reduce logistics costs effectively.

Highways and Spatial Location within Cities: Evidence from India

We investigate the impact of the Golden Quadrilateral (GQ) highway project on the spatial organization and efficiency of manufacturing activity. The GQ project upgraded the quality and width of 3,633 miles of roads in India. We use a difference-in-difference estimation strategy to compare non-nodal districts based upon their distance from the highway system. For the organized portion of the manufacturing sector, we find that GQ led to improvements in both urban and rural areas of nonnodal districts located 0–10 km from GQ. These higher entry rates and increases in plant productivity are not present in districts 10–50 km away. The entry effects are stronger in rural areas of districts, but the differences between urban and rural areas are modest relative to the overall effect. For the unorganized sector, we do not find material effects from the GQ upgrades in either setting. These findings suggest that in the time frames that we can consider—the first five to seven years during and after upgrades—the economic effects of major highway projects contribute modestly to the migration of the organized sector out of Indian cities but are unrelated to the increased urbanization of the unorganized sector.

Highway to Success: The Impact of the Golden Quadrilateral Project for the Location and Performance of Indian Manufacturing

We investigate the impact of transport infrastructure on the organisation and efficiency of manufacturing activity. The Golden Quadrilateral (GQ) project upgraded a central highway network in India. Manufacturing activity grew disproportionately along the network. These findings hold in straight-line IV frameworks and are not present on a second highway that was planned to be upgraded at the same time as GQ but subsequently delayed. Both entrants and incumbents facilitated the output growth, with scaling among entrants being important. The upgrades facilitated better industrial sorting along the network and improved the allocative efficiency of industries initially positioned on GQ.

Recent perspectives on a neglected category of heritage. Roman mining in the “Golden Quadrilateral”

Research on mining archaeology in Romania focused – mostly – on the historical interpretation of earlier mentions and very little on proper documentation (archaeological and topographic) of this peculiar type of vestiges. Only in the late 1990’ the first scientific approach to mining archaeology was undertaken in the framework of a Romanian-French cooperation, initially in the area of the Pianu Valley (Alba County) and later in the Roșia Montană – Bucium area, in the context of the “ Alburnus Maior” National Research Program. In this context, the area of the “ Golden Quadrilateral”, especially Roșia Montană, benefitted from a series of systematic mining archaeological research, both on the surface and underground. Despite the important results yielded by the research lasting more than a decade at Roșia Montană, by a national research program (halted later on), the field of ancient mining heritage in the “ Golden Quadrilateral” is deeply neglected, with deep inconsistencies between what is happening in Romania and the international developments in this field. The paper lists the issues approached during the last 15 years concerning mining archaeology and related heritage in Romania, bringing to the public’s attention a new approach concerning the latter’s documentation according to specific international practice.

Historic Gold Mining in the Apuseni Mountains Recorded in Stalagmite Geochemistry

In antiquity “ Patrulaterul de Aur ” (The Golden Quadrilateral), ca. 550 km 2 of the Apuseni Mountains was one of Eurasia’s richest gold and silver mining region. It is estimated that 60 – 64 M ounces of gold have been extracted from Romania during the past 2 ka, about 75% of which was sourced from this particular area [1]. Activities such as mining and smelting of ores and the associated biomass burning produced ample amounts of aerosols that were carried downwind and accumulated as wet or dry deposition. Meteoric water remobilized these trace elements by leaching from the soil as solute or particle/colloidal phase in aqueous solution through the bedrock and into the cave. Here we present the trace elemental compositions (22 elements, obtained by means of LA-ICP-MS) in a ca. 2 ka old stalagmite from the Frumoasă Cave (Trascău Mountains, SE Apuseni Mountains; Fig. 1) as a proxy for historical Au, Ag, and Cu mining and smelting. The most prominent sites (Roșia Montană, Zlatna, and Abrud) where ores were extracted and/or processed over the past 2 ka are < 30 km upwind of the Frumoasă Cave.

Highway to Success: The Impact of the Golden Quadrilateral Project for the Location and Performance of Indian Manufacturing

We investigate the impact of the Golden Quadrilateral (GQ) highway project on the Indian organized manufacturing sector using enterprise data. The GQ project upgraded the quality and width of 5,846 km of roads in India. We use a difference-in-difference estimation strategy to compare non-nodal districts based upon their distance from the highway system. We find several positive effects for non-nodal districts located 0-10 km from GQ that are not present in districts 10-50 km away, most notably higher entry rates and increases in plant productivity. These results are not present for districts located on another major highway system, the North-South East-West corridor (NS-EW). Improvements for portions of the NS-EW system were planned to occur at the same time as GQ but were subsequently delayed. Additional tests show that the GQ project’s effect operates in part through a stronger sorting of land-intensive industries from nodal districts to non-nodal districts located on the GQ network. The GQ upgrades further helped spread economic activity to moderate-density districts and intermediate cities.

The impact of improved highways on Indian firms

India's Golden Quadrilateral Program, a major highway project, aimed at improving the quality and width of existing highways connecting the four largest cities in India. It affected the quality of highways available to firms in cities that lay along the routes of the four upgraded highways, while leaving the quality of highways available to firms in other cities unaffected. This feature of the project allows for a difference-in-difference estimation strategy, where status on and off the improved highways, and distance from them, are used as treatment variables. This strategy is implemented using data from the 2002 and 2005 rounds of the World Bank Enterprise Surveys for India. Firms in cities affected by the Golden Quadrilateral highway project reduced their average stock of input inventories by between 6 and 12days’ worth of production. Firms in cities where road quality did not improve showed no significant changes. The reduction in stocks of input inventories also varied inversely with the distance between the city in which a firm was located and the nearest city on an improved highway. Firms on the Golden Quadrilateral were also more likely to have switched the supplier who provided them with their primary input, suggesting that they saw reason to re-optimize their choice of supplier after the arrival of better highways. Consistent with these findings, firms on the improved highways reported decreased transportation obstacles to production, while firms in control cities reported no such change.

The Impact of Improved Highways on Indian Firms

India's Golden Quadrilateral Program aimed at improving the quality and width of existing highways connecting the four largest cities in India. This affected the quality of highways available to firms in cities that lie along the routes of the four upgraded highways, while leaving the quality of highways available to firms in other cities unaffected. This feature allows for a difference-in-difference estimation strategy, implemented using data from the 2002 and 2005 rounds of the World Bank Enterprise Surveys for India. Firms in cities affected by the Golden Quadrilateral highway project reported decreased transportation obstacles to production, reduced average stock of input inventories (by about a week's worth of production), and a higher probability of having switched the supplier who provided them with their primary input. Firms in cities where road quality did not improve displayed no significant changes.