Geologists have long known that deep beneath the forbidding ice of this Arctic island lay buried treasure.
地质学家们很早就知道，在格陵兰这个北极岛屿，令人生畏的冰层底下的深处蕴藏着宝藏。
Below hundreds of feet of frozen water and ground, iron, copper, nickel, zinc, rare-earth minerals and rubies beckon. Oil and gas may sit offshore.
在结成冰的水及海底下的几百英尺处，铁、铜、镍、锌、稀土矿产和红宝石正发出召唤。近海处或许蕴藏着石油和天然气。
Fortune hunters taste opportunity. Prospectors from various countries, encouraged by Greenland's investment-friendly policies, have spent over $1.7 billion developing potential projects. A British company is going for iron ore. Scots are testing for undersea oil. Australians are pursuing rare earths. Canadians are digging for rubies, while giant Chinese mining and engineering concerns are jockeying for position.
各方淘金者嗅到了其中的机遇。受到格陵兰有利投资的政策的鼓动，来自各个国家的勘探公司投入了逾17亿美元开发潜在项目。一家英国公司正试图开采铁矿石，苏格兰人在勘探海底的石油，澳大利亚人则在寻找稀土，加拿大人采掘的目标是红宝石，同时中国的大型采矿及工程企业也在争抢着一席之地。
In Greenland, the Arctic is in play.
在格陵兰，北极活跃了起来。
Recent annual thaws make it possible for the Danish territory to contemplate exploiting these riches, even though the 56,000 people who live on the world's biggest island lack the means to build the ports, roads and power plants required to transform the fishing-based economy into a mining one.
将渔业经济转型为矿业经济需要建港口、修马路和建发电厂，生活在这个世界最大岛屿上的56,000名居民缺乏修建这些设施的财力，不过近期一年一度的融冰期让这个丹麦自治领有了考虑发掘这些宝藏的可能。
Greenland's geologists had found many resources on the largely pristine island but never much pursued mining. Then, in 2009 Denmark freed the island to largely govern itself, permitting locals to decide how best to use the land. Greenland's ethnic Inuit welcomed mineral and petroleum investors as new patrons.
格陵兰的地质学家早前就在这个大体仍处于原始状态的岛屿上发现了多种资源，但基本上从未实施过开采。到了2009年，丹麦允许格陵兰实行基本自治，准许当地人决定如何最好地利用土地。格陵兰的因纽特人欢迎矿产及石油投资者成为他们的新金主。
The islanders say they desire full independence but that it won't be possible until they achieve economic self-sufficiency from Denmark, which still provides hundreds of millions of dollars in annual support and basic services like policing.
该岛居民称，他们渴望完全独立，但这在他们脱离丹麦的资助、在经济上实现自给自足之前是不可能的。现在丹麦每年依然向他们提供数亿美元的资助以及像警务这样的基本公共服务。
One mine could fundamentally alter Greenland's $2 billion economy. Locals shudder at the alternative: continued dependence on seafood for almost 90% of the island's export earnings and handouts from Denmark worth over a third of the annual budget.
一个矿区就可能从根本上改变格陵兰只有20亿美元规模的经济。另一种选择――继续依赖占该岛近90%出口收入的海产品和丹麦资助的相当于其三分之一以上年度预算的拨款――则让当地人心有余悸。
'It's quite a dynamic point in Greenland's history, politically, economically and culturally,' says John Mair, executive director of a rare earth and uranium exploration company, Greenland Minerals and Energy Ltd.
稀土及铀勘探公司Greenland Minerals and Energy Ltd.的常务董事约翰・迈尔(John Mair)说：“现在是格陵兰历史上一个相当有活力的时刻，在政治、经济和文化上均是如此。”
Led mainly by small Australian and Canadian companies, mining groups are currently exploring more than 100 projects. Small-time prospectors typically pave the way into untested markets like Greenland, documenting what is in the ground and forecasting the costs of removing it, in hopes of attracting deep-pocketed backers.
主要由澳大利亚和加拿大小企业领衔的采矿集团目前正在勘探100多个项目。为进入像格陵兰这样的未经检验的市场铺平道路的通常都是小型勘探企业，它们会记录地下埋藏着什么矿产并预估采矿的成本，希望藉此吸引财力雄厚的投资者。
'Mining will come to Greenland,' newly elected Prime Minister Aleqa Hammond declared in a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal.
新近当选格陵兰总理的阿列克・哈蒙德(Aleqa Hammond)最近在接受《华尔街日报》(The Wall Street Journal)的采访时声明：“采矿业将会来到格陵兰。”
Because China is the biggest importer of many natural resources, its companies factor into plans for many Greenland proposals, including as customers, according to interviews with dozens of executives and government officials.
对数十名企业高管及政府官员的采访表明，由于中国是多种自然资源的最大进口国，因此该国企业在考虑有关格陵兰多个项目提案的计划，其中包括作为客户的计划。
In fact, this icy frontier's future may depend significantly on China's bankers, engineers, builders and buyers--and their government's determination to win influence at the top of the world.
实际上，这个冰雪边陲的未来或许要严重依赖中国的银行家、工程师、建筑工人和买家，以及该国政府争取在世界之巅的影响力的决心。
Asked about China's role, Mrs. Hammond said 'it's important Greenland allies with countries that have an interest in funding projects,' and which ones don't matter. 'We will not only be needing funds from outside,' she said, 'we will also be needing hands from outside.'
在被问及中国的角色时，哈蒙德回答称“重要的是格陵兰与有兴趣资助项目的国家联合”，至于是哪些国家并不重要。她还说：“我们不仅需要外界的资助，也需要外界的人手。”
Thus far, a fair share of deals-in-the-making hinge on China as a catalyst. One ore project, run by Britain's London Mining PLC (LOND.LN), envisages taking advantage of new Greenland regulations designed to permit large-scale foreign employment by bringing in Chinese workers. In mid-July, Australia's Ironbark Zinc PLC (IBG.AU) said it is working with a Chinese company that might finance, build and patronize a $485 million base metals mine it proposes in northern Greenland. A week earlier, a delegation of Chinese miners and bankers visited Greenland's president and local prospectors. Officials at Canadian firm True North Gems Inc. (TGX.V) say the group was enthusiastic about potential investment in its plan to excavate rubies, red stones that are especially popular in China and India.
迄今为止，相当一部分正在进行的交易都取决于起着催化剂作用的中国。格陵兰新近出台了允许企业大规模雇佣外籍劳工的规定，一个由英国伦敦矿业公司(London Mining PLC)运营的铁矿石项目正设想借机引进中国工人。7月中旬，澳大利亚Ironbark Zinc公司表示，该公司正与一家中国企业展开合作，对方或许会为它提议在格陵兰北部开建的一个4.85亿美元的贱金属矿出资、提供赞助并帮助建矿。前不久，一个中国矿业公司及银行界的代表团拜访了格陵兰的总统及当地的勘探公司。加拿大True North Gems公司的管理层称，这个代表团对该公司开采红宝石和其他红色玉石的计划很感兴趣，此类宝石在中国和印度特别受追捧。
Substantial Chinese economic inroads could redraw Greenland's political landscape. Historically, the island leaned toward the U.S. Relations built on American demand for a mineral called cryolite, once important to aluminum production, led to U.S. construction of ports and airstrips, and today Greenland hosts the northernmost U.S. military facility, Thule Air Base.
中国经济影响的大举渗入可能会改写格陵兰的政治格局。该岛历来都偏向与美国的关系，该关系建立在美国对一种名为冰晶石的矿物（曾是生产铝的重要材料）的需求之上，促使美国修建了港口和机场。现在美国位于地球最北端的军事设施――图勒空军基地(Thule Air Base)――就位于格陵兰。
While Denmark officially welcomes these suitors, diplomats say a significant economic tilt toward China would discomfort Denmark and its ally, the U.S. The latest annual Danish Defense Intelligence Service risk assessment highlights Chinese interest in Greenlandic mining projects in saying, 'Both the United States and Russia are highly skeptical of Chinese attempts at securing control over the region's natural resources.'
虽然丹麦官方对这些投资者持欢迎态度，但外交人士称在经济上向中国严重倾斜会让丹麦及其盟友美国感到不安。丹麦国防情报局(Danish Defense Intelligence Service)最新的年度风险评估就强调了中国对格陵兰采矿项目的兴趣，它提到：“美国与俄罗斯均高度质疑中国试图获取对该地区自然资源的控制权的举动。”
When President Barack Obama in May signed a new U.S. Arctic strategy, he emphasized seizing 'emerging economic opportunities.' The 13-page policy lacks specifics, though in a paragraph about U.S. security interests, it makes a pointed distinction between the ambition of nations like the U.S., which have territory in the region, and so-called non-Arctic states. The distinction comes as Chinese publications increasingly refer to the Asian country as a 'near-Arctic state,' according to analysts.
美国总统巴拉克・奥巴马(Barack Obama)在5月份签署了新的美国北极战略报告，并强调要抓住“出现的经济机遇”。这份政策报告长13页，没有讲到具体的细节，不过在一段有关美国安全利益的段落中，它对像美国这样在该地区拥有领土的国家的雄心及所谓的非北极国家的雄心做了明显的区分。分析人士称，美国做出这一区分是因为中国的出版物越来越多地把中国这个亚洲国家称为“近北极国家”。
Beijing, meanwhile, is sensitive to suggestions it harbors hidden agendas for the island. 'Groundless hype,' a Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman scoffed in March.
与此同时，北京方面对有关其怀有不可告人的目的的说法非常敏感。今年3月，中国外交部一名女发言人就驳斥该说法是“空穴来风的炒作”。
In fact, Chinese fingerprints in Greenland can be hard to find. There's not even a Chinese restaurant in the island's main town.
实际上，在格陵兰很难找到与中国有关的痕迹，这个岛屿的主要城市甚至连一家中餐馆也没有。
Western miners own nearly all exploration licenses for Greenland. But amid sagging mineral prices and with capital in short supply, many say they are negotiating shareholding and funding deals in China. 'The risk-willing money is in Asia,' says Jens-Erik Kirkegaard, Greenland's industry and minerals minister.
西方国家的矿业公司拥有格陵兰几乎所有的开采许可。然而，在矿石价格不断下跌和资金供应不足的情况下，许多公司都表示它们正在与中国洽谈股权与融资协议。格陵兰工业与矿产资源部部长延斯-埃瑞克・基尔克高(Jens-Erik Kirkegaard)说：“愿意承担风险的资本都在亚洲。”
Evidence of the mining ambition--and China's importance--is visible four hours by speedboat into Ilulialik Fiord. Here, house-size icebergs crash off a glacier into the ocean, tinting green the deep waters that teem with whales and seals.
乘四个小时的快艇进入伊卢利亚里克峡湾(Ilulialik Fiord)后，就可以看到中国的采矿雄心及中国的重要性的证据。在这里，房子大小的冰山从冰川上坠入海洋之中，使满是鲸鱼和海豹的深深的海水浮现出一层绿色。
On an incline above a bay still frozen in late spring, shipping containers break the vista--the unlikely staging-point for an iron ore mine, and possible Arctic foothold for China.
在一个春末依然结着冰的海湾上方的斜坡上，一个个海运集装箱打乱了那儿的景致――这是一个似乎不应该在这里出现的铁矿石矿的补给点，也可能是中国在北极的立足点。
The shipping containers on the hilltop are the prep-station for a proposed $2.35 billion iron ore mine that Greenlandic officials indicate they will license by autumn. The project is owned by Britain's London Mining but was designed by an international team with prominent roles for Chinese government-run companies.
山顶的这些海运集装箱是一个拟议的价值23.5亿美元的铁矿石矿的预备站，格陵兰的官员暗示他们将在秋季之前发放许可证。该项目的所有方为英国的伦敦矿业公司，但设计方是一个中国国营企业在其中起着重要作用的跨国团队。
Mining iron ore above the fiord is a potential budget-buster, starting with plans to dynamite a plaster of ice 550-feet thick. Up to 3,000 Chinese laborers will endure raging winds and subzero temperatures to construct power and processing plants. A pipeline will snake 64 miles down the mountain to a new port. Ships loaded with ore would navigate to China, possibly on an increasingly viable summertime voyage that cuts near the North Pole and reduces Europe-China travel time by 40%.
在峡湾上开采铁矿石可能是一个耗钱的项目，首要计划就是要炸毁一片厚达550英尺（约合168米）的冰层。多达3,000名中国工人将忍受着肆虐的狂风和零度以下的温度修建发电站和加工厂。一条管道将迂回盘旋64英里（约合103公里）至山下、再延伸至一个新港口。满载铁矿石的轮船将驶向中国，它们可能会通过越来越可行的夏季航程来运输，它缩短了北极的航路，将欧洲至中国的航行时间缩短了40%。
'We recognize that it is a door-opening project for Greenland,' says Graeme Hossie, chief executive officer of London Mining. 'One needs to put together a lot of aligned interests to make it work.'
伦敦矿业的首席执行长格雷姆・霍斯(Graeme Hossie)说：“我们认识到它是格陵兰一个对外开放的项目，你需要联合大量密切的利益相关者以让它运行起来。”
Few 'mineral hypermarkets,' enthusiasts say, can rival Greenland in good governance--its Danish-standard political stability, predictable legal system and minimal corruption.
积极支持投资的人士称，“巨型矿产市场”中很少有能在良好治理方面比得上格陵兰的，它具有如丹麦那般的政治稳定性，法律体系也稳定可测，而且腐败程度很低。
But bonanzas on frozen islands--'Ice Cold Gold,' as one television show calls Greenland--also pose extraordinary risks.
但是，冰封岛屿――有一档电视节目把格陵兰称作“冰雪黄金国”(Ice Cold Gold)――上的巨大宝藏也带来了非同一般的风险。
'Opportunities are many but you also have to be realistic,' says Arent Heilmann, a partner in Greenland Mining Services A/S, an adviser and supplier to several exploration projects. 'The challenge here in Greenland is there is no infrastructure outside the towns.'
Greenland Mining Services A/S的合伙人阿伦特・海尔曼(Arent Heilmann)称：“机会有很多，但是你还是得实际一些。格陵兰的困难是市镇之外就没有基础设施。”
Greenland is triple the size of Texas. But its population wouldn't fill Cowboys Stadium.
格陵兰的面积相当于三个得克萨斯，但它的人口却坐不满牛仔体育场(Cowboys Stadium)。
No roads link Greenland's isolated coastal hamlets. The airstrip in the capital Nuuk is too short to land Air Greenland's single jetliner. The Internet fails when icebergs snag its undersea cables.
格陵兰各个偏远的海岸村庄无道路相连。首都努克的机场跑道非常之短，连格陵兰航空公司(Air Greenland)的一架喷气客机也无法降落。每当冰山绊住海底光缆时，网络就会无法连接。
Almost 30% of Greenlanders reside in compact Nuuk. Folks dress in bristly sealskin jackets, snack on rubbery whale fat seasoned with allspice and rush to the dance floor when accordionists strike up polka-sounding Greenland hits. A favorite is 'Hvalen Hvalborg,' a Danish ode to a whale.
格陵兰岛差不多有30%的居民都住在布局紧凑的努克。人们穿着粗糙的海豹皮大衣，用多香果味的胶状鲸脂当零食，在舞池中伴着手风琴手演奏的听上去像波尔卡舞曲的格陵兰乐曲起舞。他们最喜欢的歌曲是“Hvalen Hvalborg”，它是一首赞颂一条鲸鱼的丹麦语歌曲。
Inuit often live in modern apartments featuring triple-paned windows and pastel exteriors. It is pricy to live here: a six-pack of beer is $18; five minutes of YouTube cost $1; a 45-minute domestic flight often tops $500.
因纽特人通常住在安有三层窗玻璃、外部色彩柔和的现代公寓中。这儿的生活成本相当高昂，一组六罐装的啤酒要18美元，看五分钟YouTube要花掉一美元，一趟历时45分钟的国内航班的价格常常会超过500美元。
Professionals are in short supply, including translators of Greenlandic, a language of multisyllabic words that can encapsulate an entire sentence in other tongues. To punctuate, you gasp.
专业人才在格陵兰很紧缺，其中包括格陵兰语翻译。它是一门以多音节词为基础的语言，一个词就能囊括别的语言要用一整句话表达的内容，在断句时你会大口喘气。
Out where Greenland's resources are, challenges multiply so fast some doubt mining will ever be worth the risk. Miners pay $3,200 an hour for helicopters, ride boats in waters so cold that few bother with life jackets and haul equipment by dog sled. To keep equipment from freezing, drillers pour cocktails of salt and hot water into deep bore holes and never turn off their machines. On the ore site, huge sandbags anchor the containers against gales.
在格陵兰的矿区，各种挑战也在迅速增加，有些人开始怀疑是否值得冒险在这儿采矿。采矿公司要花3,200美元一小时雇直升机，要在极其寒冷的水域中驾船，冷得几乎没人会去操心救生衣的事情，他们还要借助狗拉的雪橇来拖运设备。为防止机器结冰， 井工人要往深深的 孔里灌注加盐的鸡尾酒和热水，而且从来不关机器。在铁矿石矿场，集装箱用巨型沙包固定住以防大风把它们刮走。
And yet tough jobs are increasingly getting done in the Arctic. For a new $180 million hydropower plant distant from the Greenland fishing town Ilulissat, 150 workers built a supply port and roads, tunneled almost 9 miles below a frozen lake and stretched transmission lines 30 miles. 'Over mountains, over fiords, over lakes, over everything,' says Henrik Estrup, chief executive officer of the utility, Nukissiorfiit.
尽管如此，还是有越来越多的艰苦工作在北极得以完成。远离格陵兰渔镇伊卢利萨特(Ilulissat)的地方有一个投资1.8亿美元的新水力发电厂，150名工人已为它建了一个补给港，修建了马路，还在一个结冰的湖下挖建了一条近九英里（约合14公里）长的水道，将运输线拉长了30英里（约合48公里）。施工的公用事业企业Nukissiorfiit的首席执行长亨里克・埃斯特鲁普(Henrik Estrup)说：“（我们）在山上、峡湾上、湖上、在一切东西上（施工）。”
New York-based Alcoa Inc. (AA) has made preliminary investments toward an aluminum smelter that would rely on Greenlandic lakes for hydroelectricity and be built by Chinese workers. More immediately, 46 cargo vessels sailed the Northern Sea Route during the annual thaw in 2012, and Norway's Centre for High North Logistics counts more this season preparing to make the shortest voyage between Europe and Asia.
总部位于纽约的美国铝业公司(Alcoa Inc.)已经向一个要依赖格陵兰湖泊进行水力发电的炼铝厂进行了初步投资，该厂将由中国工人建造。更直接相关的是，在2012年的融冰期，有46艘货轮在北海航路航行，挪威的北方高纬度物流中心(Centre for High North Logistics)本季还在准备展开欧亚之间的最短航程，这一事件更是重要。
A new era looks apparent to Johannes Heilmann, a grizzled 65-year-old nicknamed Akappiaq. He hunts birds in the winter, harvests lumpfish roe in spring, catches cod and seal through the summer and harpoons fin whales until December. He suspects few after him will carve out a living with a rifle and a skiff. Greenland, he says, is 'changing from a fishing nation to a mining nation.'
今年65岁的约翰内斯・海尔曼(Johannes Heilmann)头发花白，被人称呼为“Akappiaq”。他冬天猎鸟，春天捕捞圆鳍鱼卵，夏天捕猎鳕鱼和海豹，此后在12月前则用鱼叉捕鳍鲸。在他看来，一个新时代显然就要开始了。他怀疑在他之后几乎不会有人用来福枪和小艇来谋取生计了。他说，格陵兰“正从一个渔业国家转变为一个矿业国家”。
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