Congo's Small Miners Fill Hole Left by Big Businesses(翻译)

As large mining companies in the Democratic Republic of Congo are eliminating jobs, government officials are expanding the role of small miners. Officials are permitting member-owned groups to mine 10 square kilometer plots of land that belong to the state-owned mining company.
随着刚果民主共和国的大型矿业公司开始裁员，政府官员开始重视小型矿业公司的地位。官员允许集体所有制企业在属于国有矿业公司10平方公里以内的地方开矿。

The government usually does not permit this kind of small-scale mining. But it is trying to maintain the country’s economy as commodity prices drop.
政府通常不允许这种小规模的开矿。但是随着商品价格下跌，政府需要维持国家经济。

Government officials are also trying to put the country in a good position if the price of cobalt rises. Cobalt is used to make batteries for electric vehicles. Its value is expected to rise 45 percent in the next four years.
政府官员也在试着利用未来的钴价上升给国家带来利益。钴用来制作电动车电池。据估计，钴在未来四年里将会涨价45%。

About half the world’s supply of cobalt is in the DRC.
世界上将近一半的钴都来自于刚果民主共和国。

Yet poor local workers say that foreign buyers are the ones who are making most of the money. They accuse businessmen from China and Lebanon of dominating the market. The workers say the businessmen artificially reduce prices and adjust their instruments to make the ore appear less valuable.
但是贫穷的当地工人说，外国买家才是赚钱最多的人。他们不满中国和黎巴嫩商人操控市场的行为。工人们说，这些商人人为压低价格，并在机器上做了手脚，让矿石显得不那么值钱。

At one market, miners and traders said almost all of the 140 businesses that buy ore are Chinese.
在一家市场里，矿工和商人们说，差不多全部140家收购矿石的公司都是中国人开的。

A man named Louis is one of the buyers there. He is Chinese. When he heard the miners’ complaints, he said, “Those who are happy with the price sell the product. Those who aren’t, leave.”
一个名叫路易的男人也是这里的买家之一。他是中国人。他听到矿工们的抱怨之后说：“觉得价格合适就卖，觉得不合适的就走呗。”

Some workers in the DRC hope the member-owned groups will improve the situation for local diggers and traders.
刚果民主共和国的一些工人希望集体所有制企业能够改进本地旷工和商人的生存环境。

Alain Chinois, who is Congolese, leads a cooperative with 34 members. Under his plan, diggers will earn 60 percent of the income from the mine. Cooperative members share the rest.
阿里恩·奇诺伊是刚果人，拥有一家有着34个成员的集体所有制企业。他的计划是：矿工将赚取开矿收入的60%。剩下的由企业成员均分。

He expects this arrangement to result in better working conditions, equipment, and access to capital. For example, he says his group can request a loan from a bank.
他希望这种安排能够让环境和设备变得好一些，获取资本变得更容易一些。例如，他说他的公司能够从银行获得贷款。

But, he acknowledges, foreign buyers with money to invest will continue to have a major influence.
但是，他也承认，有钱投资的外国买家还将继续发挥主要的影响力。

Stany, 42, is a miner in southeastern Congo. He is a father of five children. He left a job on a farm nearly 10 years ago to go to work in the copper mines of the Congo.
今年42岁的斯坦尼是刚果东南部的一名矿工。他是五个孩子的父亲。他十年前从一家农场辞职，在刚果的一家铜矿工作。

The mine where Stany works includes member-owned cooperatives. But research by Amnesty in 2013 still documented deadly accidents and mistreatment of workers.
斯坦尼工作的铜矿就是一家集体所有制企业。但是大赦国际2013年的调查还是记录了工人们遭遇的不当对待和严重事故。

“I do this because there is nothing else. If something else came along, I would do it,” Stany said.
“我干这个是因为没有别的可干了。如果有别的事情，我就去做了。”斯坦尼说。

Others express the same idea. Despite the problems with small-scale mining, few people in the DRC see better alternatives to it in the near future.
其他人表达了相同的观点。尽管小规模开矿有很多问题，但是刚果民主共和国也很少有人能够在短时间内找到更好的选择。

I’m John Russell.
约翰·罗素为您报道。