VOA慢速英语2017--美国矿业公司搁置与印尼政府的争议

 

An American mining company has suspended work at the world’s largest gold mine in West Papua, New Guinea in a dispute with the Indonesian government.

Indonesia wants changes to the mining company Freeport-McMoRan’s business. It also wants a majority ownership share to go to Indonesians.

The company chief says Indonesia is breaking its contract in seeking the changes. And the company may seek arbitration¹ in the case and bring a legal case against the government.

Freeport-MacMoRan is based in Phoenix², Arizona. Besides operating the world’s largest gold mine, it also mines copper³ and other minerals in the Indonesian territory.

The company employs about 32,000 people in Indonesia. It has laid off 10 percent of its foreign workforce⁴. Observers in Indonesia are concerned that the dispute will severely⁵ harm the local economy, which is dependent on mining.

Concerns about the local situation are rising

West Papua has long been a troubled territory in Indonesia. It has an independence movement that has been forcibly suppressed by military action.

Mining is the main economic activity of the area.

One local newspaper editor notes that Freeport-McMoRan also provides social services to the area. Octovianus Danunan of the Radar⁶ Timika says, “Freeport runs two hospitals here, gives hundreds of scholarships to local students, and of course, provides jobs to thousands of Papuans.”

John Gobai is a member of the Papua parliament. He said, “These layoffs⁸ have eliminated the livelihoods⁹ of a lot of people.” He says people native to the area are suffering.

Reports from the company say 36 percent of the full-time¹⁰ employees in the area are native Papuans.

Andreas Harsono is a researcher with the activist¹¹ group Human Rights Watch. He says Timika, where the mining facility is, is a wild area. He says violence is a possibility.

Contract of work disputed

The Indonesian government wants changes to a 30-year contract signed in 1991. The contract was signed when Suharto, a military ruler, was the president. However, relations between the government and Freeport-McMoRan have cooled under democratically elected presidents.

In 2009, the government passed a mining law requiring the company to build a $2.9 billion smelter. The facility would melt down metal ore to increase the value of exported materials. The country also wants a majority of the shares in the company to go to Indonesian ownership within 10 years.

Indonesian officials have increased pressure on the company to change its contract to a “Special Business License¹²” under the 2009 law. Mines and Energy Minister Ignasius Jonan has led the effort.

The contract is set to end in 2021. However, the government has passed rules in January and February increasing pressure on the company, according to a company press release.

The Indonesian Ministry¹³ of Energy and Mineral Resources could not be reached for comment on the issue.

The chief executive officer of the company, Richard Adkerson, has told Reuters news service that Freeport-McMoRan is committed to remaining in Indonesia. He notes that one third of West Papua’s economy comes from the Grasberg mine.

Both sides face large financial losses because of the dispute. Indonesia appears committed to the changes it is seeking.

During the dispute, Papua parliament member John Gobai says the government must do something for the local people.

“What the government really needs to think about is what compensation they can give the layoff⁷ victims in the present. These people are employees, but they are also citizens,” Gobai said.

Words in This Story

arbitration –n. the process of seeking judgement from a third party in a dispute between two sides

smelter –n. a facility used to melt down and remove impurities¹⁴ from metal ores

ore –n. rock that contains high concentrations of metal

license –n. a document that gives official permission to do some activity

compensation –n. something provided to make up for damage or trouble

1 arbitration   

n.调停，仲裁

参考例句：

• The wage disagreement is under arbitration.工资纠纷正在仲裁中。
• Both sides have agreed that the arbitration will be binding.双方都赞同仲裁具有约束力。

2 phoenix   

n.凤凰，长生(不死)鸟；引申为重生

参考例句：

• The airline rose like a phoenix from the ashes.这家航空公司又起死回生了。
• The phoenix worship of China is fetish worship not totem adoration.中国凤崇拜是灵物崇拜而非图腾崇拜。

3 copper   

n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的

参考例句：

• The students are asked to prove the purity of copper.要求学生们检验铜的纯度。
• Copper is a good medium for the conduction of heat and electricity.铜是热和电的良导体。

4 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

5 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

6 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。

7 layoff   

n.临时解雇，操作停止，活动停止期间，失业期

参考例句：

• Finally, prepare an explanation about what led to your layoff.最后，要准备好一套说辞来解释你被解雇的原因。
• Workers were re-employed after the layoff.在暂时解雇不久后工人们又被再度雇用了。

8 layoffs   

临时解雇( layoff的名词复数 )； 停工，停止活动

参考例句：

• Textile companies announced 2000 fresh layoffs last week. 各纺织公司上周宣布再次裁员两千人。
• Stock prices broke when the firm suddenly announced layoffs. 当公司突然宣布裁员时，股票价格便大跌

9 livelihoods   

生计，谋生之道( livelihood的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• First came the earliest individualistic pioneers who depended on hunting and fishing for their livelihoods. 走在最前面的是早期的个人主义先驱者，他们靠狩猎捕鱼为生。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• With little influence over policies, their traditional livelihoods are threatened. 因为马赛族人对政策的影响力太小，他们的传统生计受到了威胁。

10 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

11 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

12 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

13 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

14 impurities   

不纯( impurity的名词复数 )； 不洁； 淫秽； 杂质

参考例句：

• A filter will remove most impurities found in water. 过滤器会滤掉水中的大部分杂质。
• Oil is refined to remove naturally occurring impurities. 油经过提炼去除天然存在的杂质。