经济学人:非洲金矿开采:金手铐(上)

 　　Business 商业

　　Gold Mining in Africa: Golden handcuffs 非洲金矿开采：金手铐

　　Tanzania's firebrand leader takes on its largest foreign investor¹. 坦桑尼亚反对派领导人接手其最大的国外投资商。

　　“If they accept that they stole from us and seek forgiveness in front of God and the angels and all Tanzanians and enter into negotiations², we are ready to do business.” “如果他们能够承认他们偷了我们的东西，而且希望得到上帝和桑尼亚人民的宽恕，并且愿意进行谈判协商，那我们准备好做生意了。”

　　As conciliatory gestures go, that one by John Magufuli, Tanzania's president, to Acacia Mining, the country's largest foreign investor, could hardly have been more fork-tongued. 坦桑尼亚总统john magufuli对Acacia（本国最大的境外投资商）的讲话是一种妥协姿态，根本是自欺欺人。

　　Nonetheless, two days later John Thornton, head of Barrick Gold, Acacia's largest shareholder³,  不过两天后，约翰·桑顿，巴里克黄金公司（Barrick Gold）负责人，阿加西亚斯的最大股东与Magufuli会面，

　　met Mr Magufuli to start talks on ending a dispute that has halved⁴ Acacia's market value since the government in March imposed a ban on the export of gold- and copper-concentrates. 就结束一场自3月政府颁布关于黄金和铜精矿的出口禁令进行谈判，这一禁令使得Acacia的市场价值减少一半。

　　It is a mark of the seriousness of the stand-off that he is ready to negotiate on all points of contention⁵ between the two sides. 这是双方对峙的严重性的一个标志，他准备就双方的所有争论点进行谈判。

　　The context of the row is increasingly typical of Africa's mining industry. 这一争端的背景是非洲矿业的典型特征。

　　The Tanzanian government is seeking more tax revenue from a foreign mining firm that was initially⁶ wooed into the country by generous tax concessions⁷. 坦桑尼亚政府正从外国矿业公司收取更多的税收，但这些公司最初是被巨大的的税收优惠吸引过来的。

　　The state also wants to generate more value and jobs by smelting⁸ Acacia's concentrates domestically, rather than abroad. 该国还希望通过Acacia公司冶炼精矿在国内创造更多价值及就业机会，而不是在国外。

　　That may seem reasonable, but Mr Magufuli's firebrand populism, as well as his unpredictability, have made it a particularly worrying test case for mining firms across the region. 这似乎是合理的，但是Magufuli的民粹主义，以及他的不可预测性，使得整个地区的矿业公司来特别担心这一测试案例。

　　In April Tanzania announced a new presidential committee to look into its gold exports. 4月，坦桑尼亚宣布成立新的总统委员会来调查其黄金出口。

　　In late May the committee accused Acacia of under-reporting its gold exports by a factor of ten, an accusation⁹ Mr Magufuli repeated. 在5月底，委员会指责Acacia漏报了黄金出口的十分之一，Magufuli也指责Acacia的这种行为。

　　Acacia says the charges of tax evasion¹⁰ are absurd. Acacia公司表示，对他们逃税的指控是荒谬的。

1 investor   

n.投资者，投资人

参考例句：

• My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
• The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。

2 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

3 shareholder   

n.股东，股票持有人

参考例句：

• The account department have prepare a financial statement for the shareholder.财务部为股东准备了一份财务报表。
• A shareholder may transfer his shares in accordance with the law.股东持有的股份可以依法转让。

4 halved   

v.把…分成两半( halve的过去式和过去分词 )；把…减半；对分；平摊

参考例句：

• The shares have halved in value . 股价已经跌了一半。
• Overall operating profits halved to $24 million. 总的营业利润减少了一半，降至2，400 万元。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 contention   

n.争论，争辩，论战；论点，主张

参考例句：

• The pay increase is the key point of contention. 加薪是争论的焦点。
• The real bone of contention,as you know,is money.你知道，争论的真正焦点是钱的问题。

6 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

7 concessions   

n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权

参考例句：

• The firm will be forced to make concessions if it wants to avoid a strike. 要想避免罢工，公司将不得不作出一些让步。
• The concessions did little to placate the students. 让步根本未能平息学生的愤怒。

8 smelting   

n.熔炼v.熔炼，提炼（矿石）( smelt的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• a method of smelting iron 一种炼铁方法
• Fire provided a means of smelting ores. 火提供了熔炼矿石的手段。 来自辞典例句

9 accusation   

n.控告，指责，谴责

参考例句：

• I was furious at his making such an accusation.我对他的这种责备非常气愤。
• She knew that no one would believe her accusation.她知道没人会相信她的指控。

10 evasion   

n.逃避，偷漏(税)

参考例句：

• The movie star is in prison for tax evasion.那位影星因为逃税而坐牢。
• The act was passed as a safeguard against tax evasion.这项法案旨在防止逃税行为。