Nickel Mine, Environmental Activists Exist Together in Michigan

Nickel Mine, Environmental Activists Exist Together in Michigan

在密歇根，镍矿与环保活动人士共存

【原文听力】

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　　By Dan Friedell

　　11 December 2023

　　About 20 years ago, the international mining company Rio Tinto said it would open a nickel mine in the far northern part of the American state of Michigan.

　　Rio Tinto promised good jobs for people in the area close to Canada.

　　But environmental activists had concerns. They were worried about industrial pollution from the metal, the mining byproducts and contaminated water runoff into rivers and lakes.

　　Many observers expected a long legal fight between the two sides. Some did not believe the mine would ever open.

　　But the Eagle mine has been open for more than 10 years. There have been no accidents or pollution problems.

　　People in the area who once protested the mine have found a way to exist with the mine.

　　Maura Davenport is one of those people. She is one of the top leaders of the Superior Watershed Partnership (SWP), an environmental interest group.

　　"I was fiercely opposed to the mine, and I changed," she said.

　　Davenport's group was invited to act as a "watchdog" for the mine. Rio Tinto asked the group to oversee pollution testing that has higher standards than regulators require.

　　The cooperation between the environmental group and the mining company may be an example for other mines around the world.

　　Many new mines are opening in order to provide minerals needed to make items used by the green energy economy. These items include batteries, electrical wire and magnets.

　　If countries around the world are to meet the climate goals set in Paris in 2015, there needs to be a 400-percent increase in the production of these minerals. The International Energy Agency said there needs to be an increase of 19 times in nickel production alone.

　　Davenport said the Eagle mine proposal "divided our community." Other mines in northern Michigan had opened in the 1800s and closed in the 1930s. The mining companies left behind large open holes and environmental damage. Water that ran from the mine polluted Lake Superior, one of the Great Lakes in the northern Midwest.

　　Simon Nish worked for Rio Tinto when the Eagle mine was proposed. He said he understands the "dilemma" that communities face. They need jobs and an economic benefit, he said, but "don't want long-term environmental consequences."

　　Residents do not trust the big mining companies he said, so it makes it easier to say no to proposals.

　　He worked in Australia in the 1990s when mining companies wanted to use land where native Aboriginal people lived. He said he learned that businesses need to "understand the interests of both sides" if they want long-term success.

　　When Nish arrived in Michigan in 2011, the mine was under construction. But it faced several legal disputes. In order to find a way for the mine to open, Nish considered looking for a partner.

　　Nish said the Superior Watershed Partnership was already testing water around the area. He asked if they would consider running an environmental testing program for the mine.

　　Over a few months, Rio Tinto and the SWP made a plan for testing. The group required open access to the mine. It would also test groundwater in the surrounding area. And it required permission to test a processing center 30 kilometers away. Rio Tinto was required to pay for the work.

　　The agreement launching the Community Environmental Monitoring Program was signed in 2012. More than 10 years later, no major pollution problems have turned up.

　　But some environmental groups are still concerned. Rochelle Dale is head of the Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve. She said Eagle mine and the testing program are doing good work.

　　But, she said, "a lot of the sulfide mines in the past haven't really had a problem until after closure. It's something that our grandchildren are going to inherit."

　　As more mines open up to help meet the world's demand for new minerals, mining companies are starting to understand how important local support is to their success.

　　The partnership in Northern Michigan gives large mining companies a "road map." But, although it has been successful so far, there is no guarantee that an accident will not happen that pollutes the area in the future.

　　I'm Dan Friedell.

　　VOA's Steve Baragona wrote this story. Dan Friedell adapted it for Learning English.

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　　作者：Dan Friedell

　　2023年12月11日

　　大约20年前，国际矿业公司力拓集团宣布将在美国密歇根州的极北部开设一座镍矿。

　　力拓集团承诺为靠近加拿大的该地区的人们提供好的工作机会。

　　但是，环保活动人士有所担忧。他们担心金属、矿业副产品和污染水流入河流和湖泊所带来的工业污染。

　　许多观察家预计双方会有一场漫长的法律斗争。有些人甚至不相信这座矿会真的开采。

　　但是，鹰矿已经开采了10多年。至今没有发生过事故或污染问题。

　　曾经抗议开采这座矿的当地人们已经找到了与矿场共存的方式。

　　Maura Davenport就是其中的一员。她是优越流域伙伴关系（SWP）的顶级领导之一，这是一个环保利益团体。

　　她说：“我曾经强烈反对开采这座矿，但我改变了。”

　　Davenport的团队被邀请作为矿场的“监察者”。力拓集团要求该团队监督污染测试，这些测试的标准比监管机构要求的更高。

　　环保团体和矿业公司之间的合作可能成为世界其他矿山的示范。

　　许多新的矿山正在开采，以提供绿色能源经济所需的矿物质。这些物品包括电池、电线和磁铁。

　　如果世界各国要实现2015年在巴黎设定的气候目标，那么这些矿物的生产需要增加400%。国际能源署表示，仅镍的生产就需要增加19倍。

　　Davenport说，鹰矿的提议“分裂了我们的社区”。密歇根州北部的其他矿山在19世纪开采，1930年代关闭。矿业公司留下了大量的开放式矿坑和环境破坏。从矿山流出的水污染了苏必利尔湖，这是美国中西部北部的五大湖之一。

　　Simon Nish在鹰矿提议时为力拓集团工作。他说他理解社区面临的“困境”。他说，他们需要工作和经济效益，但“不希望产生长期的环境后果”。

　　他说，居民们不信任大型矿业公司，所以很容易对提议说不。

　　他在1990年代在澳大利亚工作，当时矿业公司想使用原住民土著人居住的土地。他说，他了解到，如果企业想要长期成功，就需要“理解双方的利益”。

　　当Nish在2011年来到密歇根时，矿山正在建设中。但它面临着几个法律纠纷。为了找到开采矿山的方法，Nish考虑寻找一个合作伙伴。

　　Nish说，优越流域伙伴关系已经在测试周围地区的水。他问他们是否会考虑为矿山运行一个环境测试项目。

　　经过几个月，力拓集团和SWP制定了一个测试计划。该团队要求能够自由进入矿山。它还会测试周围地区的地下水。并且它要求获得测试距离30公里的处理中心的许可。力拓集团被要求支付这项工作的费用。

　　2012年，启动社区环境监测计划的协议被签署。10多年后，没有出现重大的污染问题。

　　但是，一些环保团体仍然有所担忧。Rochelle Dale是黄狗流域保护区的负责人。她说，鹰矿和测试计划正在做出良好的工作。

　　但是，她说，“过去的许多硫化物矿在关闭后才真正出现问题。这是我们的孙子辈将要继承的问题。”

　　随着更多的矿山开放，以满足世界对新矿物的需求，矿业公司开始理解到当地支持对他们的成功有多么重要。

　　密歇根北部的合作为大型矿业公司提供了一份“路线图”。但是，尽管到目前为止它已经取得了成功，但不能保证未来不会发生污染该地区的事故。

　　我是Dan Friedell。

　　这个故事是VOA的Steve Baragona写的。Dan Friedell将其改编为学习英语。

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　　本故事中的词汇

　　contaminated – adj. 受污染的，由于外部元素使其变脏或变得有害，使其不再纯净

　　standard – n. 标准，由权威机构或普遍同意设立的规则或模型

　　item – n. 关注、关心或兴趣的对象

　　regulator – n. 制定规则并确保遵守规则的人或团体

　　battery – n. 提供电流的电池或连接的电池

　　dilemma – n. 困难的决定或问题

　　benefit – n.产生良好或有益结果或效果的事物

　　construction – n. 建设工作，为创造新事物必须进行的工作

　　access – n. 进入其他受限区域的能力

　　inherit – v. 在人死后接收某物

　　road map– n. 在实现目标方面被证明成功的指南或方向