VOA慢速英語(yǔ):Mining Company Cortec Confirms Rare Minerals In Coastal Kenya

08 August, 2013

From VOA Learning English, this is the Economics Report.

Recent discoveries of mineral wealth in Kenya could help add to east Africa's biggest economy. The government also is taking steps to improve the openness of the mining industry. But some citizens are concerned that new mining projects will damage local communities.

Mining companies say, the mineral resources could be worth billions of dollar. Local communities say, they hope this will help their economies. And the government has warned companies about making announcements about new resources before they are confirmed.

Kenya's Secretary of Mining Najib Balala says the government will ask mining companies for details about their findings before making them public.

"Any public announcements by a mining company, we as a government needs to have that notification 21 days before their announcements."

The discoveries also could upset some communities where big mining projects are planed. One example is the recent discoveries of rare minerals in the Mrima Hills in the coast area of kwale. The mining company Cortec reported finding a deposit of more than 600 kilograms of Niobium. The element is used in making steel and metal mixtures called superconducting alloys that allow electric currents to travel very easily.

Cortec says the discovery could be worth 50 billion dollars. But a dispute has begun between the company, the government and the local communities. Leaders of the Mijikenda ethnic group which lives near Kenya's coast, say they practise their religion in the Mrima Hills.

Joseph Morando is an official of the kaya people who are part of the local ethnic group. He says his people are oppose to mineral mining in the Mrima forest and in the area. He says they are appealing to the government to save the area which is an important part of their history. The area also is listed as a world heritage site by the United Nations cultural agency or UNESCO.

The Kenya government has not announced how payments it receives from mining companies called royalties would be used. Mining Secretary Najib Balala is expected to present legislation, proposing that the central government take 70% of mining royalty, local government would receive 25% and local communities would receive 5%.

The government says it hopes that reforms in the mining industry will improve openness. Mr Balala says that Kenya canceled 31 mining licences during the first half of this year, because of concerns over the process for receiving a licence to mine.

That's this week's Economics Report from VOA Learning English.

From VOA Learning English, this is the Economics Report.

這里是美國(guó)之音慢速英語(yǔ)經(jīng)濟(jì)報(bào)道。

Recent discoveries of mineral wealth in Kenya could help add to east Africa's biggest economy. The government also is taking steps to improve the openness of the mining industry. But some citizens are concerned that new mining projects will damage local communities.

肯尼亞最近發(fā)現(xiàn)的礦藏將有助于幫助這個(gè)東非的最大經(jīng)濟(jì)體?？夏醽喺舱诓扇〈胧?，逐步改善采礦業(yè)的開(kāi)放度。但一些市民擔(dān)心，新的采礦項(xiàng)目會(huì)傷害當(dāng)?shù)厣鐓^(qū)。

Mining companies say, the mineral resources could be worth billions of dollar. Local communities say, they hope this will help their economies. And the government has warned companies about making announcements about new resources before they are confirmed.

礦業(yè)公司表示，該礦產(chǎn)資源可能價(jià)值數(shù)十億美元。當(dāng)?shù)厣鐓^(qū)表示，他們希望這會(huì)有助于他們的經(jīng)濟(jì)。政府也就各公司在他們確認(rèn)前公布這一新礦產(chǎn)資源提出了警告。

Kenya's Secretary of Mining Najib Balala says the government will ask mining companies for details about their findings before making them public.

肯尼亞礦業(yè)部長(zhǎng)納吉布·巴拉拉(Najib Balala)表示，政府要求礦業(yè)公司在公開(kāi)信息前提交有關(guān)發(fā)現(xiàn)的詳細(xì)資料。

"Any public announcements by a mining company, we as a government needs to have that notification 21 days before their announcements."

“作為政府部門(mén)，任何一家礦業(yè)公司公布信息，我們都要求在他們公布前21天得到通知。”

The discoveries also could upset some communities where big mining projects are planed. One example is the recent discoveries of rare minerals in the Mrima Hills in the coast area of kwale. The mining company Cortec reported finding a deposit of more than 600 kilograms of Niobium. The element is used in making steel and metal mixtures called superconducting alloys that allow electric currents to travel very easily.

該發(fā)現(xiàn)還可能會(huì)破壞規(guī)劃大型采礦項(xiàng)目地區(qū)的一些社區(qū)。例子之一就是沿海的夸萊(Kwale)地區(qū)的Mrima山最近發(fā)現(xiàn)稀有金屬礦產(chǎn)。科塔克(Cortec)礦業(yè)公司報(bào)告發(fā)現(xiàn)一處富含超過(guò)600公斤鈮(Niobium)的礦床。該元素用于制造被稱為超導(dǎo)合金的鋼材和金屬的混合物，它能讓電流快速通過(guò)。

Cortec says the discovery could be worth 50 billion dollars. But a dispute has begun between the company, the government and the local communities. Leaders of the Mijikenda ethnic group which lives near Kenya's coast, say they practise their religion in the Mrima Hills.

科塔克公司表示，該發(fā)現(xiàn)可能價(jià)值500億美元。但該公司、政府和當(dāng)?shù)厣鐓^(qū)之間發(fā)生了糾紛。住在肯尼亞沿海附近的米吉肯達(dá)族的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人表示，他們?cè)贛rima山進(jìn)行宗教活動(dòng)。

Joseph Morando is an official of the kaya people who are part of the local ethnic group. He says his people are oppose to mineral mining in the Mrima forest and in the area. He says they are appealing to the government to save the area which is an important part of their history. The area also is listed as a world heritage site by the United Nations cultural agency or UNESCO.

約瑟夫·莫蘭(Joseph Morando)是卡亞人的官員，這是當(dāng)?shù)孛准线_(dá)族的一個(gè)分支。他表示，他們的人民反對(duì)在Mrima森林和該地區(qū)開(kāi)采礦產(chǎn)資源。他說(shuō)，他們呼吁政府保護(hù)該地區(qū)，這是他們歷史的重要組成部分。該地區(qū)也被聯(lián)合國(guó)科教文組織列為世界文化遺產(chǎn)。

The Kenya government has not announced how payments it receives from mining companies called royalties would be used. Mining Secretary Najib Balala is expected to present legislation, proposing that the central government take 70% of mining royalty, local government would receive 25% and local communities would receive 5%.

肯尼亞政府尚未公布如何使用從礦業(yè)公司收繳的特許使用費(fèi)。礦業(yè)部長(zhǎng)巴拉拉有望提出立法，建議中央政府拿走70%的采礦特許使用費(fèi)，當(dāng)?shù)卣@得25%，當(dāng)?shù)厣鐓^(qū)獲得5%。

The government says it hopes that reforms in the mining industry will improve openness. Mr Balala says that Kenya canceled 31 mining licences during the first half of this year, because of concerns over the process for receiving a licence to mine.

政府表示希望采礦業(yè)的改革能提高開(kāi)放度。巴拉拉先生表示，在今年上半年，出于對(duì)獲得開(kāi)采許可證過(guò)程的擔(dān)憂，肯尼亞取消了31個(gè)采礦許可證。