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发表于 2016-7-11 10:34:04
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It has long been known that Greenland sat upon vast mineral lodes, and the
Danish government has mapped them intermittently for decades. Niels Bohr,
Denmark’s Nobel Prize-winning nuclear physicist and a member of the Manhattan
Project, visited Narsaq in 1957because of its uranium deposits.
格陵兰岛地下蕴藏着巨大的矿藏这一点久为人知。几十年来,丹麦政府已经断断续续地绘制了这些矿藏的分布图。参与过曼哈顿计划(Manhattan
Project)的丹麦核物理学家、诺贝尔奖得主尼尔斯·玻尔(Niels Bohr)曾在1957年造访纳萨克,原因是这里有铀矿藏。
But previous attempts at mining mostly failed, proving too expensive in the
inclement conditions. Now, warming has altered the equation.
然而,之前的开采尝试几乎都失败了,事实证明在严酷的环境下采矿,成本过于高昂。如今,气候变暖让这个等式发生了变化。
Greenland’s Bureau of Minerals and Petroleum, charged with managing the
boom, currently has 150 active licenses for mineral exploration, up from 20 a
decade ago. Altogether, companies spent$100 million exploring Greenland’s
deposits last year, and several are applying for licenses to begin construction
on new mines, bearing gold, iron and zinc and rare earths. There are also
foreign companies exploring for offshore oil.
负责对开发热潮进行管理的格陵兰矿产与石油管理局(Bureau of Minerals and
Petroleum)目前发放的有效的矿产勘探许可证有150份,而十年前仅为20份。去年,各企业总计投入了1亿美元用于勘探格陵兰岛的矿藏。有几家公司正在申请在新矿藏进行建设的许可证。这些新矿蕴藏着金、铁、锌和稀土。也有一些外国公司在勘探近海石油。
The Black Angel lead and zinc mine,which closed in 1990, is applying to
reopen this year, said Jorgen T.Hammeken-Holm, who oversees licensing at the
country’s mining bureau, “because the ice is in retreat and you’re getting much
more to explore.”
在格陵兰矿务局负责许可证发放的官员约尔延·T·哈梅肯-霍尔姆(Jorgen T.Hammeken-Holm)表示,1990年关停的黑天使(Black
Angel)铅锌矿,正在申请今年重新开矿。她说,“因为冰川正在消退,可供勘探的地方越来越多了。”
The Greenlandic government hopes that mining will provide new revenue. In
granting Greenland home rule in 2009,Denmark froze its annual subsidy, which is
scheduled to be decreased further in the coming years.
格陵兰政府希望采矿能带来新的收入。2009年,丹麦允许格陵兰实行地方自治,并将冻结给格陵兰岛拨付的年度补贴。根据安排,补贴金额会在接下来的几年里进一步减少。
Here in Narsaq, a collection of brightly painted homes bordered by
spectacular fjords, two foreign companies are applying to the government for
permission to mine.
在纳萨克当地,一片房屋涂着明亮的颜色,不远处就是壮观的峡湾。两家外国公司正在向政府申请采矿许可。
That proximity promises employment,and the company is already schooling
some young men in drilling and in English,the international language of mine
operations. It plans to build a processing plant, a new port and more roads.
(Greenland currently has none outside of settled areas.) Narsaq’s tiny airport,
previously threatened with closure from lack of traffic, could be expanded. A
local landlord is contemplating converting an abandoned apartment block into a
hotel.
由于临近矿藏,采矿业在这里提供了就业机会。这家公司已经开始教一些年轻人钻孔和英语了。英语是采矿作业使用的国际语言。公司计划修建一座加工厂和一座新港口,还打算多修些公路。(目前,在格陵兰岛上的定居点以外还没有公路。)纳萨克那个小机场过去因为旅客太少,差一点被关闭,但现在可能还会扩建。当地的一名房东正盘算着把一处闲置的公寓楼改造成旅馆。
“There will be a lot of people coming from outside and that will be a big
challenge since Greenlandic culture has been isolated,”said Jasper Schroder, a
student home in Narsaq from university in Denmark.
在丹麦一所大学就读的大学生雅斯佩尔·施罗德(Jasper
Schroder)家在纳萨克,他说,“会有很多外国人来,因为格陵兰岛的文化一直都很孤立,这会是一个很大的挑战。”
Still, he supports the mine and hopes it will provide jobs and stem the
rash of suicides, particularly among his peers; Greenland has one of the highest
suicide rates in the world. “People in this culture don’t want to be a burden to
their families if they can’t contribute,” he said.
但他还是支持采矿,并且希望采矿业能提供工作机会,遏止草率的自杀事件,尤其是他的同龄人的自杀。格陵兰是全世界自杀率最高的地方之一。他说,“生活在这种文化中的人,如果不能为家庭做出贡献,就不想成为家人的负担。”
But not all are convinced of the benefits of mining. “Of course the mine
will help the local economy and will help Greenland, but I’m not so sure if it
will be good for us,” said Dorothea Rodgaard, who runs a local guesthouse. “We
are worried about the loss of nature.”
然而,不是所有人都相信采矿会带来好处。在本地经营着一家家庭旅馆的多罗特娅·罗德高(Dorothea
Rodgaard)说,“当然,采矿会有助于本地的经济,也有助于格陵兰,但它是否对我们有利,我就不是那么确定了。我们担心自然环境的损失。”
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