[1] From the very beginning, Minaur has played exclusively in the first division of the Romanian handball championship.

[citation needed] Minaur won its first Romanian Handball Cup in the 1977–78 season.

During this period, Minaur was the only non-urban team in the Romanian league to compete internationally, often performing better than the Bucharest clubs.

[citation needed] In 1985, Minaur achieved Romania’s first international handball success by defeating the Soviet team ZTR Zaporizhzhia in the final of the EHF Cup.

[citation needed] Twenty-four years after its founding, in 1998, the dream of every Baia Mare handball fan came true: HC Minaur became the champion of Romania!