Researches on Mining Cadastre: Past, Present and Future Perspectives. The Case of a Former Mining Town: Borșa, Maramureș County

Abstract After the cessation of mining activities, concerns for mining cadastre research are only sporadic. The present study aims at bringing up to date the evolution of the mining cadastre in the Romanian provinces with a mining book regime, territories that were until 1918 within the structure of the former Habsburg Empire. (Austro-Hungary since 1867). Several stages can be distinguished in the evolution of the mining cadastre in the areas shown. From the 16th century until 1854 the principles and methods of the mining cadastre were set up. Between 1854 and 1924 the provisions of the Austrian General Mining Law of 1854 were followed. From 1924 to 1948, the mining cadastre provisions provided for in the mining law of 1924 and other specific regulations are applicable. After 1948, under the conditions of a statist regime, the mining record did not respect the principles of the mining cadastre previously assessed. After 1990, the new mining cadastre only partially takes over the classical principles and methods of the mining cadastre. The way of applying the mining cadastre was focused upon in the town of Borșa, a mountainous place where farmers had not formed cooperatives and where intensive mining was carried out until 2007. With the cessation of mining in Baia Borșa, the mining cadastre was reduced to inventories of some mining assets and sporadic cadastre registrations of some premises and settling ponds. The study analyzes the current situation and proposes some integrated solutions, mediated by GIS technology, aiming the introduction of the mining cadastre in correlation with the introduction of the general cadastre. In this context, GIS technology offers modeling tools that, for example, can assess the degree of suitability of the land for construction.