加拿大的粉色金子(下)

Russia and Belarus, the world’s two other potash powers, together produce about what Saskatchewan does on its own.

俄罗斯和白俄罗斯是世界上另外两个钾肥大国，两国的钾肥产量加起来大约相当于萨斯喀彻温省自己的产量。

But the world has lost access to much of their output, owing to sanctions and shipping blockades.

但由于制裁和航运封锁，世界其他地区已经失去了获得大部分产量的机会。

Ken Seitz, the boss of Nutrien, a Canadian potash miner, recently told Reuters that the stranded supplies could amount to 8m tonnes this year, a fifth of global potash exports.

加拿大钾肥矿商Nutrien的老板肯·塞茨最近告诉路透社，今年搁浅的钾肥供应可能达到800万吨，占全球钾肥出口的五分之一。

That means the biggest importers, such as Brazil, India and Indonesia, as well as Europe, will find it harder to procure the fertiliser they need to plant crops and keep citizens fed.

这意味着，巴西、印度、印度尼西亚以及欧洲等最大的进口国将更难获得种植农作物和养活民众所需的化肥。

Saskatchewan is one of the few places in the world that can boost production at short notice, says Bronwyn Eyre, until recently the province’s minister of energy and resources.

萨斯喀彻温省能源和资源部长布朗温·艾尔表示，萨斯喀彻温省是世界上少数几个能在短时间内提高产量的地方之一。

Ambassadors and other officials have been calling with urgent demands.

大使和其他官员一直在打电话提出紧急要求。

For them, “it’s a national security concern.”

对他们来说，这是一个国家安全问题。

Saskatchewan is often said to be Canada’s heartland, full of cheerful, guileless folk who are just a generation or two off the farm if not still on it.

萨斯喀彻温省经常被认为是加拿大的心脏地带，到处都是开朗、朴实的人，他们即使不在农场了也只是才一两代人的时间。

The ups and downs of farm life helped forge a culture of mutual support.

农场生活的起起伏伏有助于形成一种相互支持的文化。

The province was the first place in North America to provide universal health care, in 1962.

1962年，该省是北美第一个提供全民医疗保健的地方。

But recent prosperity, and perhaps the influence of Alberta, an oil-soaked neighbouring province with a secessionist bent, have changed things a bit.

但最近的繁荣，或许还有艾伯塔省的影响，这个石油资源丰富、有分离主义倾向的邻近省份，已经让情况发生了一些变化。

Today’s Saskatchewanites seem to want smaller government and lower taxes.

今天的萨斯喀彻温省人似乎想要更小的政府和更低的税收。

Ms Eyre’s conservative Saskatchewan Party caters to that.

艾尔女士的保守派萨斯喀彻温党迎合了这一点。

The potash industry is at the centre of this new mood.

钾肥行业处于这种新情绪的中心。

The tallest steel-and-glass office building in Saskatoon, the largest city, is the Nutrien tower.

在最大的城市萨斯卡通，最高的钢铁和玻璃结构的办公楼是Nutrien Tower。

Mosaic’s building in the provincial capital, Regina, is almost as prominent.

马赛克在省会里贾纳的建筑几乎同样引人注目。

The firms’ names adorn stadiums and events.

这些公司的名字装饰在体育场和赛事活动上。

To anyone who takes the Yellowhead Highway across the province, half a dozen mines and their huge pink-white tailing piles can be seen across the pancake-flat landscape.

对于任何走黄头高速公路穿越该省的人来说，在这片平坦如饼的地形上都可以看到六个矿山和他们巨大的粉白色尾矿堆。

Firms are scrambling to take advantage of what one boss describes as “outrageous” prices, which have tripled in a year.

一位老板将其描述为“令人发指”的价格，在一年内涨了三倍，各家公司都争相利用这一价格。

But new mines take time.

但新矿需要时间。

Potash deposits are a kilometre or so beneath the earth, under a thick layer of pressurised water.

钾盐矿藏位于地下约一公里处，在一层厚厚的加压水下。

To sink a shaft down the water must be frozen from above, a procedure that can take two years or more.

将竖井沉入水中必须从上方冻结，这一过程可能需要两年或更长时间。

Bhp, the world’s biggest mining firm, is rushing to finish its first potash mine, in Saskatchewan, a year before it was due to open in 2027.

必和必拓，世界上最大的矿业公司，正赶着完成其在萨斯喀彻温省的第一座钾矿，这比原定于2027年开放的钾矿早了一年。

Efforts are under way to ramp up production at existing mines, too.

目前也在努力提高现有矿场的产量。

Nutrien plans to extract an extra 1m tonnes of potash in 2022, equal to 7% of its output.

Nutrien计划在2022年额外开采100万吨钾肥，相当于其产量的7%。

Mosaic has reactivated a mine it had mothballed in 2019.

Mosaic公司重新启用了2019年封存的一处矿场。

But transport problems hamper such plans.

但交通问题阻碍了这样的计划。

What Canada needs, says Ms Eyre, is more pipelines to move oil and gas about, which would free rail capacity to move more potash and crops to ports to be shipped abroad.

艾尔表示，加拿大需要更多输送石油和天然气的管道，这将释放铁路运力，将更多的钾肥和农作物运往港口运往国外。

The left-leaning prime minister, Justin Trudeau, disagrees.

左倾的总理贾斯汀·特鲁多不同意这种说法。

Like most of Canada, the province also suffers from a shortage of workers.

与加拿大大部分地区一样，该省也面临着劳动力短缺的问题。

No other province has seen such slow population growth.

其他省份的人口增长没有这么缓慢。

Over the past century the ranks of Saskatchewanites have increased by half to 1.2m while the country’s population has quadrupled.

在过去的一个世纪里，萨斯喀彻温省的人口增加了一半，达到120万人，而该国的人口则翻了两番。

The provincial government has been keen to take as many Ukrainian refugees as it can get.

省政府一直热衷于接收尽可能多的乌克兰难民。

But despite ample jobs, cheap housing and a diaspora, Ukrainians have not come flocking.

但是，尽管有充足的就业机会、廉价的住房和海外侨民，乌克兰人并没有蜂拥而至。