（文章取自格陵兰航空公司杂志《Suluk》2017年02期）

        TEXT: Anja Rosa    作者：Anja Rosa

In the polar desert, where the winter night lasts for months, there will be hard work, seal soup, daily routines and bingo. But in the isolated mining town, nothing is like home.

在北极荒漠，冬夜持续几个月。那里将有艰苦的工作，海豹汤，日常生活，还有宾果游戏。但是，在与世隔绝的矿区镇子里，无以为家。

It is as close to the North Pole’s postal code as you can get: Citronen Fjord lies as a small appendage to the 140 kilometre long Frederick E. Hyde Fjord in Peary Land in the High Arctic.

这里与北极极点的距离已经很近了：Citronen峡湾在高纬度北极的Peary岛140公里长的 Frederick E. Hyde峡湾对比下，就好像一个小附件。

*（上图）Peary Land Aerial, Greenland, 2007  Peary岛航拍，格陵兰，2007 （取自网上）

Here, after ten years of preparation – in a corner of the biggest nature reserve in the world – the Australian company Ironbark Zinc Ltd has received the Government of Greenland’s permission to open a mine that is estimated to contain the world’s biggest deposits of zinc and lead.

这里，经过十多年的准备——在世界最大的自然保护区的一个角落——澳大利亚铁巴克锌业有限公司得到了格陵兰政府的准许，在这个据估算拥有世界上最大的存储锌和铅的地方，开工采矿。

*（上图）The mines will be built in the northernmost corner of Greenland’s National Park and an airport will also be built there.  矿场将建在格陵兰国家公园最北的角落，机场也将建在那里。

The exploitation license means that Ironbark has intensified work to get the finuancing in place. This is always the hardest part of a project. But if all goes to plan with help of Chinese backing the mining town will be constructed in 2018. Two years later, the mine should be fully operational.

这个采矿许可证意味着，铁巴克公司已经加紧了融资进程确保资金到位。融资永远是一个项目推进中最艰难的一部分。但是，如果这一切有了来自中国矿产业的支持，这个矿产的建设将在2018年完成。2年以后，矿区将全面投入生产。

Some people would say no to a life at 83°northern latitude, but this demanding life does not deter young men and women who are made of the right stuff. They are ready to write job applications and the priorities are clear:

有些人会对在北纬83度地区生活说“不”，但是，严酷的生活不能阻止合适材料制造的年轻男女。他们已经准备填写工作申请，要求内容的优先顺序也很清楚：

– They ask first and foremost about the wages, says training manager Hans Hinrichsen from the Mining School in Sisimiut, which trains future mining staff .

——“他们首要的要求是报酬”，西西米优特（Sisimiut）矿产学校的培训经理Hans Hinrichsen说。未来的矿工将由他负责培训。

Away from family 远离家人

Up in the zinc and lead mines there will be plenty of work for the young Greenlanders. In the construction phase, 300 workers are to be recruited, 60 of them local and the rest from abroad. And when mining of the ore begins, the number will rise to almost 500. Of these, somewhere between 235 and 430 are expected to be Greenlanders.

精通锌矿和铅矿，对格陵兰青年来说，将大量的功课需要做。在建设阶段，需要招聘300位工人，其中60位来自当地，其余的来自海外。当开采矿石的时候，需要的工人数将上升到接近500人。到时候，计划格陵兰人将占235到430人之间。

– We are looking forward to this, emphasizes Hans Hinrichsen from the mining school. He adds that the wages should be at attractive enough to compensate for the tough conditions such as sweeping hurricanes, months of polar darkness and temperatures down to minus 50 degrees.

——“我们期望是这种情况”，来自矿业学校的Hans Hinrichsen强调说。他补充说报酬将有足够的吸引力，能够弥补像飓风席卷、数月的极夜以及零下50度的气温这些艰苦的条件。

– And it is not the climate that is the worst of it all. We are used to it. It is being away from family, says Hans Hinrichsen.

——“而且气候问题也不是最坏的情况。我们习惯了这种气候。最坏的情况是远离家人”。Hans Hinrichsen说。

The miners will be working shifts. There are two models; six weeks in the mine and three weeks off. Or three-three. The work is organized so that the regular rhythm consists of 12 hour work shifts and 12 hours off. The mine will never rest. It must be working 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

矿工们将轮班工作。有两种工作形式：六周在矿场工作三周休息，或者三周工作三周休息。采矿工作将按照12小时工作12小时休息的节奏来安排。采矿永远不停。必须是每天24小时一年365天连续运转。

Training manager Hans Hinrichsen predicts that recreation time will be the most difficult time for the workers. There will be films and fitness, sleeping and eating. But it will probably be hard to pass the time.

培训经理Hans Hinrichsen预计休闲时间将是工人们最困难的时间段。可以看电影，健身，睡觉，吃饭。打发时间估计是难事。

–It is important that people can communicate with their families from up there. It is possible from other remote mines, so it should also be possible there, says Hans Hinrichsen.

——“在那里工人们能够跟家人联系是非常重要的。其他矿场条件上可以做到，所以在那里应该也能办到。” Hans Hinrichsen说。

*（上图＆下图）Work has been going on for ten years to create a basis for a mine at Citronen Fjord. Citronen峡湾矿场开发项目基础工作进行了十几年。

No surfing 没有网络

And yes – lines of communication have been thought of. Computers will be set up in the mine’s library, but use of them will be restricted.

当然，——通讯线路已经考虑到了。电脑也将在矿场的图书室安装。但是，使用是有限制的。

– Employees will not be permitted to surf on the internet and use (of the three computers. Ed.) will be reserved for contact with the home, it says in the material from Ironbark.

——职工不允许上网，用电脑（3台电脑）也是留作跟家里联系用。这是来自铁巴克的资料中的说法。

This is because there are no communication satellites up at 83° northern latitude. Ironbark must therefore set up a connection to the outside world, but capacity will be so low, that a filter on Iceland will prevent e.g. large emails from shutting the system down.

这是因为那里北纬83度以上地带没有通讯卫星。铁巴克必须与外部世界建立联系，但是容量非常低，建在冰岛上的一个滤波器将防止大的邮件之类造成系统瘫痪。

But as a miner, you gain the companionship of your colleagues and this can compensate a little for being away from home and family.

但是，矿工可以从同事那里得到友谊，这可以补偿一点远离家乡远离家人的痛苦。

– A very special atmosphere evolves in a mining environment. There are many nationalities, so it is international and this appeals to young people in particular, says Hans Hinrichsen. However, he recommends that the mining management makes an effort to create a particularly Greenlandic environment for the employees, for example by ensuring they can have Greenlandic food.

——“矿山环境里将会发展出一种非常特别的气氛。工人来自不同国家，所以，这种国际化尤其对年轻人具有吸引力”。Hans Hinrichsen说。无论如何，他建议说，矿场管理方将尽力为职工们营造出特别的格陵兰式的环境，比如确保他们能够吃上格陵兰食物。

– I know that other mining projects have arranged a weekly bingo evening, which the workers liked a lot and that would also be a good idea here, he says.

——“据我所知其他矿场每周一个晚上会组织一次宾果游戏，工人们很喜欢，这对新矿区来说也是一个好点子”，他说。

（上图）It may be hard for mine workers to pass the time in this isolated town.  对矿工来说，在与世隔离的镇子上打发时间是件难事。

Largest project 最大的工程

If Ironbark succeeds in obtaining the DKK three billion, it is looking good for Greenland’s treasury. According to the company’s feasibility study, the export value of the zinc and lead could be about DKK 38 billion and if this prognosis holds, it will result in total revenue for the treasury of up to DKK 4.5 billion in taxes and royalties over a 14 year period.

如果铁巴克成功融资30亿丹麦克朗，对格陵兰财政来说是好事。根据这个公司的可行性分析报告，锌和铅的出口金额可能达到380亿丹麦克朗。如果这个预测成立，将会给格陵兰国家财政带来45亿丹麦克朗的税收以及14年的特许使用权收入。

The signalling effect of the project could be significant for the country’s economy.

这种项目的信号传递效应对国家经济有着重要的意义。

*（上图）The license will be signed in Nuuk by Minister of Mineral Resources Muté B. Egede and Ironbark’s director Jonathan Downes. 许可证将在努克由格陵兰矿产资源部长Muté B. Egede和铁巴克公司经理Jonathan Downes共同签字。

According to the Minister of Mineral Resources, Muté B. Egede, the Citronen Fjord project could serve as a giant advertising poster for Greenland: If the mine is successful, it will be easier to attract foreign capital for other mineral projects. 

根据格陵兰矿产资源部长Muté B. Egede的说法，Citronen峡湾项目可以为格陵兰起到巨大的广告宣传作用，如果这个矿场成功，吸引外国资金来格陵兰投资矿产项目会更容易了。

The mines will be built at the tip of Citronen Fjord on the eastern bank in a crossing of two glacial valleys where the Esrum River and the Østre River run. The fjord is surrounded by bare mountains up to 1,000 metres in height.

矿场将建在Citronen峡湾东岸的尖角位置，穿越Esrum河与Østre河经过的两个冰川谷。峡湾由1000多米高的荒山环绕。

Two open mines and one underground mine will be built as well as a jetty so vessels can put in three times during the summer season. There will also be an airport, roads, processing plants, tailing plants for mining waste, a dam at the lake, storage buildings and, of course, offices and housing.

那里将建造两个露天矿、一个地下矿以及一个码头。这样船只可以在夏天进港三次。那里还将建一个机场，道路，天然气处理厂，开矿废料处理厂，湖坝，厂库，还有，当然就是办公楼和住房。

The closest year-round habitation is at the Danish military base at Station Nord. It is 940 km to Qaanaaq, which is the closest Greenlandic habitation and approx. 2000 km to the capital, Nuuk.

离着矿区最近的常年设立的聚居地是位于北部站的丹麦军事基地。距离最近的格陵兰居民区Qaanaaq镇有960公里，距离首都努克大约2000公里。

Today, the Sirius Patrol is all that travels regularly in the area. Other living creatures such as musk-oxen, wolves or polar bears move on quickly towards richer feeding grounds. Only five per cent of the ground is covered in vegetation.

现在，丹麦“天狼星”巡逻队定期在这个地区活动。其他生物像麝牛、狼群和北极熊会快速向着觅食区移动。只有5%的地方有植被覆盖。
【译者注】丹麦“天狼星”巡逻队是世界上唯一一支军方狗拉雪橇巡逻队，负责在格陵兰进行巡逻。

The Ironbark project is the largest of the most advanced three mining projects in Greenland. The other two are the ruby mine and the Hudson Project. 3.3 million tons of ore a year will be mined here, which is five times the amount that was mined at the Maarmorilik mine between 1973 and 1991.

铁巴克项目是格陵兰最先进的三个矿产项目中最大项目。其他两个项目是红宝石矿产和Hudson稀有矿项目。每年有3.3百万吨的矿石要被开采，开采量是1973年到1991年之间Maarmorilik区矿场开采量的五倍。

（上图）The Antamina mine in the Andes in Peru is one of the world’s biggest zinc mines. Ironbark will be a competitor. 秘鲁安第斯山脉的安塔米纳矿是世界上最大的锌矿。铁巴克项目将是它的竞争者。