The commune is composed of sixteen villages: Bălmoșești, Blidești, Bunta, Cărpiniș (Abrudkerpenyes), Coasta Henții, Corna (Szarvaspatak), Curături, Dăroaia, Gârda-Bărbulești, Gura Roșiei (Verespataktorka), Iacobești, Ignățești, Roșia Montană, Șoal, Țarina, and Vârtop (Vartop).

[7] The community, then known as Alburnus Maior, was founded by the Romans during the rule of Trajan as a mining town, with Illyrian colonists from South Dalmatia.

Mining appears to have started again in the Middle Ages by German (Transylvanian Saxon) migrants using similar techniques to the Romans.

This mine was operated by Roșiamin, a subsidiary of the state-owned company Regia Autonomă a Cuprului din Deva (RAC), and provided 775 jobs,[10] representing most of the employment in the region.

The Project's origins are in a 1995 deal signed by RAC Deva with the controversial Romanian-Australian businessman Frank Timiș about reprocessing the tailings at Roșia Montană.

[citation needed] Within the project, Roșia Montană Gold Corporation (RMGC) plans to produce 225 tonnes of gold and 819 tonnes of silver over 17 years and it would involve digging up a large area, involving the creation of four mining pits covering 205 ha (510 acres), the first two at the old mining sites of Cirnic and Cetate, followed by pits at Jig and Orlea in Phase II.

[14] The company began buying up houses in the city, but about 100 residents refused to sell and, supported by environmentalists, architects, archeologists and lawyers, they have been battling the corporation and the state in courts.

[14] Resistance to RMGC's plans followed a Romanian Academy report on the project released in April 2003, which recommended that all cyanide mining be suspended in Roșia Montană.

[19] In 2013, the Victor Ponta government announced that it will send through parliament a new law that would allow the bypass of environmental and heritage regulations that prevented the project from being started.

Amid speculation that the rejection of the draft law could mean the end of the mining project,[20] Gabriel have said that it is 'a first step in defining the next phase of developing Roșia Montană'.

The three-day FânFest event has a large range of cultural, environmental, musical and outdoor activities as well as offering the chance to participate in various workshops.