Business Mongolian copper Halfway to where?
商业 蒙古铜矿 车行半路，前途未卜
A massive mining project hits a snag
一个庞大的矿业项目遇到了阻碍
IN THE endless brown wastes of the Gobi desert in the south of Mongolia huge blue structures are springing up.
在蒙古南部的戈壁沙漠上那一望无际的棕色荒原上，巨大的蓝色建筑正在不断地完工。
Some 18,000 workers are employed on Oyu Tolgoi, or "Turquoise Hill", the largest undeveloped copper and gold mine in the world.
奥由陶勒盖（意为"绿松石山"）是世界上最大的未开采铜矿和金矿。共有18000人目前在那里工作。
Rio Tinto, the mining giant that is managing the project,
管理该项目的是世界矿业巨头力拓集团。
flew its chairman, Jan du Plessis, to the site for a ceremony on September 25th to mark the halfway point of the first phase of construction.
其主席杜立石于9月25日赶到该地参加庆祝第一期工程过半。
Celebrations were hardly marred by rumblings of discontent back in the capital, Ulaanbaatar, from Mongolian politicians.
这次庆祝并没有受到在首都乌兰巴托的蒙古政客们的不满抱怨影响。
But since then the rumblings have got louder, worrying not just Oyu Tolgoi's investors, but all those gleeful at the prospect of a prolonged mining-led boom in the country.
但自那以后这种抱怨声似乎有增无减，这不仅让奥由陶勒盖的投资者们担忧，也影响了所有那些为蒙古未来由矿业带动的长期兴荣前景感到高兴的人。
A group of 20 members of parliament signed a petition in early September asking the government to reopen negotiations on the 2009 "Investment Agreement" that set the $10 billion project in motion.
九月初20位议员联名上书，要求政府重新开放关于2009年的"投资协议"的谈判。
That could be dismissed as populist political noise ahead of elections due next year.
正是该协议当年启动了这个100亿美元的项目。也许这是政客们面对明年的大选为了迎合民声所制造的政治噪音，可以置之不顾。
But by the end of the month, it had become the basis of a formal request from the government to Ivanhoe Mines of Canada, which has a 66% stake in the company that owns the mine and is in turn 49% owned by Rio.
但是到九月底，以这份文件为基础，蒙古政府对加拿大的伊凡赫公司提出重新谈判的正式要求。伊凡赫控制有拥有该矿所有权的公司66%的股份，而力拓又拥有伊凡赫49%的股份。
Opening parliament this week, the speaker, who sits on the National Security Council, voiced his support for a renegotiation.
本周国会会议上，在国家安全理事会列席的国会议长表示了他对重新谈判的支持。
The main demand is to bring forward the date when the government has the option to increase its 34% share in the project to 50%.
政府主要的要求是提前给予其权利将政府在这个项目中所占的34%股份增加到50%。
At present, its share—which was financed by a loan from Rio—cannot rise until 2040.
现在的合同要求政府依靠力拓的贷款而购入的项目股份在2040年之前不能进一步增加。
The government also wants to impose a "sliding-scale royalty" on the project.
政府也想要在该项目上实施一项"滑动佣金"。
This week, Ivanhoe and Rio shot back a letter saying the agreement was not up for renegotiation.
本周伊凡赫和力拓致函反驳，声明该协议不会再重新谈判。
All they will concede is that, under its terms, the government is within its rights to ask for talks.
他们唯一的让步是，在合同允许的范围内，蒙古政府有权利要求双方会谈。
They are adamant, however, that the terms cannot be changed.
但他们非常坚定合同的细节不能修改。
The mining companies point out the huge benefits the project brings in terms of employment, tax revenue and foreign exchange.
这两家矿业公司指出这个项目在就业，税收和外汇上为蒙古带来了巨大的好处。
By 2020, when it will be producing 450,000 tonnes of copper a year, which will be sold across the nearby Chinese border, it is expected to account for a staggering one-third of Mongolia's GDP.
到2020年，该项目将能年产45万吨铜，并出口到邻近的中国。届时该项目预计将在蒙古国民生产总值占到惊人的三分之一。
They also argue that, with the copper price falling, a renegotiation might leave the government in a worse position.
它们也指出，由于铜价下跌，重新谈判可能反而会陷政府于不利。
The current agreement has the effect of insuring its equity stake against market risk.
现有的协议可以保护股份不受市场风险影响。
The investors feel some Mongolians do not understand that, because of taxes and royalties, the government's 34% share grossly understates the benefits it will receive from the project.
投资者们觉得蒙古人没有理解，各种税收和佣金使得政府从该项目的实际收益远远大于纸上标明的34%。
Oyu Tolgoi is the poster project for a national mining boom that sees Ulaanbaatar crawling with foreign miners and their investment bankers.
奥由陶勒盖是蒙古矿业兴旺的宣传项目，为了这个项目而来的外国矿产业者和他们的投资银行家挤满了整个乌兰巴托。
Of immediate concern are plans to raise billions of dollars through a multinational offering of shares in a huge coal project, Tavan Tolgoi, also in South Gobi province.
这次风波眼前最大的担忧是其对另一项计划的影响。该计划打算利用对外出售同样位于南戈壁省的一个巨大煤矿——塔本陶勒盖的股份以集资几十亿美元。
Oyu Tolgoi already faces problems enough.
奥由陶勒盖已经面临相当多的问题了。
Inter-governmental negotiations with China have yet to produce an agreement on its supply of power for the early years of production.
蒙古和中国政府关于在开采初期的几年内向该矿提供电力的谈判还没有达成共识。
Ivanhoe has been snapping at Rio for making "unauthorised remarks" about the project,
伊凡赫一直对力拓在该项目上发表"未授权言论"感到愤怒。
and there is the small matter of $4 billion in bank finance to be raised.
另外一件小事就是还需要筹集40亿美元的银行贷款。
So the government needed a face-saving way out of the latest fine mess it had gotten the project into.
因此蒙古政府需要想办法把这个被它自己弄得一团糟的项目导入正轨以挽回颜面。
On October 6th it issued a joint statement with the foreign partners saying they had settled their differences, without amending the Investment Agreement.
十月六日蒙古政府和其外国伙伴发表共同声明宣布他们已经尽释前嫌，投资协议也不需要修改。
Rio and Ivanhoe will be relieved.
力拓和伊凡赫总算可以松一口气了。
But it will still have to deal with the disgruntled parliamentarians, not to mention voters.
但是它们还是需要应付那些充满怨气的议员，更不用说选民了。