澳大利亞礦商的網絡內戰 An iron ore civil war plays out on social media in Australia
“Our family. Our jobs. Our future,” is the message conveyed on the Facebook page and Twitter feed. Gazing out from the screen are a blonde woman, two blonde children, a pair of sheepdogs — and a miner wearing overalls.
“我們的家庭。我們的工作。我們的未來。”這是Facebook和Twitter上“我們的鐵礦石”(Our Iron Ore)運動頁面發佈的信息。一個金髮女人、兩個金髮兒童，一對牧羊犬，還有一個身穿工作服的礦工透過屏幕看着你。
This is the all-Australian family, with the mining sector at its heart, as envisaged by a campaign called “Our Iron Ore”. It is one of two competing public relations initiatives embroiled in bitter argument in Australia over this abundant commodity.
這是這個被稱爲“我們的鐵礦石”的運動所描繪的一個全澳大利亞人家庭，採礦業是這個家庭的核心。該運動是兩項針鋒相對的公共關係倡議之一，兩者正在圍繞澳大利亞豐富的鐵礦石資源進行激烈論戰。
As the patriotic element of the “Our” campaign suggests, iron ore is anything but prosaic in Australia, whose economy relies heavily on the hundreds of millions of tonnes sucked in annually by China’s steelmaking industry. In Western Australia’s Pilbara region, the iron ore heartland, its price movements are part of everyday conversation.
正如“我們”運動的愛國主義元素所顯示的，鐵礦石對澳大利亞來說至關重要，因爲該國經濟嚴重依賴每年以數億噸計輸出至中國鋼鐵業的鐵礦石。在西澳大利亞的鐵礦石腹地——皮爾巴拉(Pilbara，上圖爲皮爾巴拉的一家力拓公司擁有的鐵礦石礦)地區，鐵礦石價格波動是人們日常談論的話題。
In 2011, the price of iron ore scaled the heights of $190 per tonne and brought a bonanza for Australia. Four years later, the price has slumped by about 75 per cent: this month it fell below $45/t. Thousands of jobs are being cut and smaller, domestic miners are under pressure.
2011年，鐵礦石價格升至每噸190美元的高點，爲澳大利亞帶來一個巨大財源。四年後，鐵礦石價格已經下跌了約75%：本月，價格已經跌至每噸45美元以下。數千個工作崗位被裁減，澳大利亞國內的中小型鐵礦石生產商正面臨壓力。
What has ensued is an Australian iron ore civil war, in which the main antagonists are the miners themselves.
在澳大利亞，隨之而來的是一場圍繞鐵礦石的“內戰”，戰爭的雙方就是鐵礦石生產商自己。
Behind the “Our Iron Ore” campaign is an Australian miner called Fortescue Metals Group and its combative founder and chairman, Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest. It blames the price slump on multinational rivals — meaning BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto and accuses them of harming Australian interests by flooding the iron ore market with excess supply, driving down industry profits and tax revenue and putting jobs at risk.
“我們的鐵礦石”運動背後的支持者是一家名爲Fortescue Metals Group的澳大利亞鐵礦石生產商及其好鬥的創始人兼董事長安德魯輠里斯特（Andrew Forrest，因幼時瘦弱，綽號“柴禾棒”(Twiggy)）。該公司將價格暴跌歸咎於其競爭對手——跨國公司必和必拓(BHP Billiton)與力拓(Rio Tinto)，指責它們的過量供應衝擊了鐵礦石市場，拉低了行業利潤和稅收收入，威脅到就業，從而損害了澳大利亞的利益。
Iron ore taxes “help pay for schools, roads, police stations and pensions”,the campaign says, adding that the sector needs a “sustainable, Australian-focused future”.
該運動稱，鐵礦石稅“幫助支付了學校、道路、警察局及養老金開支”，並補充說，這一行業需要一個“可持續、以澳大利亞爲重心的未來”。
Such pro-Australia arguments seemed to strike a chord. Even Tony Abbott, prime minister, mused on whether an inquiry into the workings of the iron ore market would be sensible.
此類親澳大利亞觀點似乎引起了共鳴。即使澳大利亞總理託尼縠伯特(Tony Abbott)都在思考：對鐵礦石市場的運作進行調查是否明智。
David Flanagan, managing director of a junior producer called Atlas Iron that was rescued from oblivion by a complex deal with its suppliers and contractors, backs the idea of a parliamentary inquiry, saying ordinary Australians need to understand how the iron ore price is set and how the industry works.
市場地位不高的鐵礦石生產商Atlas Ironthat董事總經理戴維弗拉納根(David Flanagan)支持由議會進行調查的觀點，他說，普通的澳大利亞人需要了解鐵礦石價格如何被設定以及這個行業如何運作。這家原本快要被遺忘的公司此前由於與供應商及承包商達成了一筆複雜交易而再次被記起。
Mr Flanagan says the rhetoric of BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto is partly to blame for the drop in prices, with their plans to keep expanding spooking many investors and traders.
弗拉納根說，必和必拓與力拓的言論應該對價格下跌負部分責任，它們繼續擴大生產的計劃嚇到了許多投資商和交易商。
The multinationals are hitting back through the Minerals Council of Australia, a sector lobby group, saying restricting output would not work. The council has set up a rival online and social media campaign called “Iron Ore Facts”, promising to address “myths” put out about the industry.
這些跨國公司通過行業遊說團體——澳大利亞礦業協會(Minerals Council of Australia)進行了回擊，稱限制產量不會有用。該委員會已經發起了一項與“我們”運動針鋒相對的網絡和社交媒體運動，名爲“鐵礦石真相”(Iron Ore Facts)，誓言要澄清圍繞這一行業的種種“誤解”。
One fact — or at least prediction — is that iron ore will be worth $600bn to Australia’s economy over the next 10 years, more than in the past decade.
一個事實（或者至少是預測）是，鐵礦石對未來10年澳大利亞經濟的價值將達到6000億美元，超過過去10年的水平。
