2021年经济学人 火山卤水矿,真正的绿色来源(2)（在线收听）

As he writes in Open Science, he suspects these are found beneath every active and dormant volcano, though the concentration of copper in the brine concerned will vary from place to place.

正如他在《开放科学》中所写的那样，他怀疑在每座活火山和休眠火山下都能找到铜，只不过有关卤水中的铜浓度因地而异。

His evidence comes from electromagnetic surveys carried out on some 40 volcanoes, including Mount Fuji in Japan, Mount St Helens in America and others in Bolivia, New Zealand, the Philippines and elsewhere.

他的证据来自于对约40座火山进行的电磁调查，其中包括日本的富士山、美国的圣海伦斯火山以及玻利维亚、新西兰、菲律宾等地的其他火山。

These surveys consistently pick up highly conductive zones 2km or more beneath the surface, for which the simplest explanation is the presence of super-salty metalrich brines.

这些探测始终能探测到地表以下2公里以上的高导电性区域，对此最简单的解释是存在超咸的富金属卤水。

This conjecture is reinforced by analysis of rock samples recovered from such depths under a number of volcanoes.

这一推测通过分析从许多火山下这样深度的岩石样本得到了证实，

These do indeed contain brines with varying concentrations of copper, as well as other valuable metals including lithium, ZINC, gold and silver.

里面确实含有不同浓度的铜以及其他有价值的金属，包括锂、锌、金和银。

All this suggests that copper could be drilled for commercially in the same way that oil is—except that the boreholes involved would be considerably deeper.

所有这些都表明铜可以像石油一样用于商业开采——除了钻孔要深得多之外。

That would be difficult, but not out of the question.

这很困难，但也不是不可能。

It would require equipment that could withstand temperatures greater than 400°C and contact with brines ten times saltier than seawater. But the prize would be worth it.

它需要设备能够承受超过400°C的温度，并与比海水咸10倍的卤水接触。但这是值得的。它需要设备能够承受超过400°C的温度，并与比海水咸10倍的卤水接触。但这是值得的。

Individual volcanoes would, admittedly, yield only a fraction of the output of a big copper mine.

不可否认的是，单个火山的产量只是大型铜矿产量的一小部分。

Dr Blundy and his colleagues estimate, for example, that there might be as much as 1.4m tonnes of copper beneath New Zealand's White Island volcano, whereas the world's largest mines hold tens of millions of tonnes of it.

例如，布伦迪博士和他的同事们估计，在新西兰的怀特岛火山下可能蕴藏着多达140万吨的铜，而世界上最大的铜矿则蕴藏着数千万吨的铜。

But there are only a handful of such mines, most in mountain ranges near the Pacific coast of the Americas.

但是像这样的矿山只是少数，大多数都在美洲太平洋海岸附近的山脉当中。

By contrast, hundreds of volcanoes exist around the world, ready be tapped.

相比之下，世界上有数百座火山正等着开发。

The temperature at which the equipment used would have to operate, moreover, brings an opportunity.

此外，所使用的设备必须运行的温度也带来了机会。

The heat involved might be employed to generate electricity—enough to power the drilling operation and perhaps even to yield a surplus.

其中产生的热量可以用来发电——足够为钻井作业提供动力，甚至可能产生盈余。

Sucking copper out of Earth's crust through 2km-long straws might thus be that rare thing in the mining industry, an actual environmental good.

因此，用2公里长的吸管从地壳中吸铜可能是采矿业罕见的事情，但却是真正的环保产品。