经济学人:非洲金矿开采:金手铐(下)

 　　They note that if production were as understated as the committee alleged¹,  他们指出，如果产量真的像委员会所说的那样被低估了，

　　Bulyanhulu and Buzwagi, the two mines where it produces concentrate, would be the biggest gold producers in the world. 那么Bulyanhulu和Buzwagi（Acacia生产黄金的矿山）就是世界上最大的黄金生产商了。

　　The firm says that it “wishes this were true, but sadly it is not the case.” 该公司表示，“我们倒是希望这是真的，但遗憾的是事实并非如此。”

　　Its gold production is audited² in its accounts. Acacia生产账目中的黄金产量已被审查。

　　How far Mr Magufuli wishes to go is unclear. 不知道Magufuli会让这件事持续多久。

　　The big fear is that he may favour full nationalisation. 最让人担心的是他可能支持完全国有化。

　　But he may accept a more pragmatic settlement. 但他也可能会接受更切实际的解决方案。

　　Analysts³ at UBS, a bank, reckon the Tanzanian government wants to bully⁴ Acacia into giving up a share of its “tax assets”, which it values at $532m. 瑞士联合银行的分析师估计，坦桑尼亚政府想要通过恐吓的方式让Acacia集团放弃其“税务资产”的一部分，其价值为5.32亿美元。

　　For example, the company is owed some $150m in VAT⁵ refunds⁶. 例如，该公司欠了1.5亿美元的增值税退税。

　　Barrick, which owns almost 64% of Acacia, will discuss all of this. 巴里克拥有将近64%的Acacia矿业公司的股份，他将会对此进行讨论。

　　“A negotiated solution is better than escalation⁷, such as going to international arbitration,” a spokesman says. 一位发言者说：“谈判商讨解决方案总比让事态升级好，比如参加国际仲裁。”

　　That means it is prepared to talk about the tax problem as well as the possible construction of Tanzania's first smelter of gold- and copper-concentrates,  这意味着，他准备谈论税收问题，以及建设坦桑尼亚第一家金和铜精矿的冶炼厂的可能性。

　　even though the latter has long been considered uneconomic because the country's output of concentrates is too low. 尽管因为这个国家的精矿产量太低，以至于建造冶炼厂一直被认为是不经济的。

　　Since the ban was imposed, Acacia has continued to mine, stockpiling its output instead of exporting it. 自从禁令实施以来，Acacia矿业公司一直在继续开采，矿物继续囤积却无法出口。

　　But it cannot continue without generating cash for ever. 但如果长期这样，它就无法获得现金回流，就无法继续运转下去。

　　If it stops production, the damage will extend to the country at large. 如果它停产了，损失将扩大到整个国家。

　　Last year Tanzania's economy was among Africa's best performers, growing by about 6%. 去年，坦桑尼亚经济增长约6%，是非洲经济发展最好的国家之一。

　　It needs more foreign investment to maintain that pace. 但他需要更多来自外国的投资来使经济保持在这一增长速度。

　　Mr Magufuli's tactics—whether he has God and the angels on his side or not—will make that harder to achieve. 无论Magufuli是对是错，他的策略都是难以实现的。

1 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

2 audited   

v.审计，查账( audit的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The accounts have to be audited by a firm of external auditors. 这些账目必须由一家外聘审计员的公司来稽查。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• E. g. few if any charities collection publishes audited accounts. 例如很少义款收集有公布经过查核的帐目。 来自互联网

3 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

4 bully   

n.恃强欺弱者，小流氓；vt.威胁，欺侮

参考例句：

• A bully is always a coward.暴汉常是懦夫。
• The boy gave the bully a pelt on the back with a pebble.那男孩用石子掷击小流氓的背脊。

5 vat   

n.(=value added tax)增值税，大桶

参考例句：

• The office is asking for the vat papers.办事处要有关增值税的文件。
• His father emptied sacks of stale rye bread into the vat.他父亲把一袋袋发霉的黑面包倒进大桶里。

6 refunds   

n.归还，偿还额，退款( refund的名词复数 )v.归还，退还( refund的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Tomorrow he would return them to the store and claim refunds. 明天他要把它们退还给商店并要求退款。 来自辞典例句
• The new method means that taxpayers get refunds much faster. 这种新办法意味着纳税人可以较快地领到退还款。 来自辞典例句

7 escalation   

n.扩大，增加

参考例句：

• The threat of nuclear escalation remains. 核升级的威胁仍旧存在。 来自辞典例句
• Escalation is thus an aspect of deterrence and of crisis management. 因此逐步升级是威慑和危机处理的一个方面。 来自辞典例句