Romania backs Canadian plan

A TRANSYLVANIAN gold mine project which critics say threatens the environment and a Roman temple has been approved by the Romanian government.

Canadian company Rosia Montana Gold announced ten years ago that it wanted to mine gold in Rosia Montana. It will relocate hundreds of residents and rip apart a stretch of a mountain range.

President Traian Basescu and the government supports the project, which has been opposed by civil groups, historians and archaeologists, and some politicians.

Critics say the mine could pollute streams and rivers, pointing out that a cyanide leak at a Romanian gold mine in 2000 killed much of the aquatic life in the Tisza River, a tributary of the Danube.