The Romanian government is considering holding a referendum on whether to allow a Canadian company to build a gold mine in the Transylvanian mountain region of Rosia Montana that it says would be Europe's biggest open-cast gold mine. President Traian Basescu said...he would not rule out holding a vote on the proposed mine that...Gabriel Resources has been trying to get approved for about 14 years...His statement...came after thousands of people protested against the proposed mine...The open-pit gold and silver mine would be built on a 2,400-hectare site in the mining region of Rosia Montana...The majority of residents in the Rosia Montana district reportedly support the mine, but many Romanians still remember the devastating effects of the accidental release of tailings containing cyanide into their river system from the Baia Mare mine in 2000 and are concerned about the planned use of cyanide in the extraction process at Rosia Montana...The government has branded the project of "special national interest," which observers say gives the company freer rein to expropriate property needed for the mine. According to Gabriel Resources, which operates locally as the Rosia Montana Gold Corporation, the concession in question would affect four out of the 16 villages that make up the Rosia Montana district...[E]nvironmentalists and other opponents of the project, which include...the Soros Foundation of Romania, say...the quarries Gabriel Resources wants to build would...wipe out three out of 16 villages...