澳大利亚矿商的网络内战 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.

“我们的家庭。我们的工作。我们的未来。”这是Facebook和Twitter上“我们的铁矿石”(Our Iron Ore)运动页面发布的信息。一个金发女人、两个金发儿童，一对牧羊犬，还有一个身穿工作服的矿工透过屏幕看着你。

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.

这是这个被称为“我们的铁矿石”的运动所描绘的一个全澳大利亚人家庭，采矿业是这个家庭的核心。该运动是两项针锋相对的公共关系倡议之一，两者正在围绕澳大利亚丰富的铁矿石资源进行激烈论战。

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“我们”运动的爱国主义元素所显示的，铁矿石对澳大利亚来说至关重要，因为该国经济严重依赖每年以数亿吨计输出至中国钢铁业的铁矿石。在西澳大利亚的铁矿石腹地——皮尔巴拉(Pilbara，上图为皮尔巴拉的一家力拓公司拥有的铁矿石矿)地区，铁矿石价格波动是人们日常谈论的话题。

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，铁矿石价格升至每吨190美元的高点，为澳大利亚带来一个巨大财源。四年后，铁矿石价格已经下跌了约75%：本月，价格已经跌至每吨45美元以下。数千个工作岗位被裁减，澳大利亚国内的中小型铁矿石生产商正面临压力。

What has ensued is an Australian iron ore civil war, in which the main antagonists are the miners themselves.

在澳大利亚，随之而来的是一场围绕铁矿石的“内战”，战争的双方就是铁矿石生产商自己。

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.

“我们的铁矿石”运动背后的支持者是一家名为Fortescue Metals Group的澳大利亚铁矿石生产商及其好斗的创始人兼董事长安德鲁輠里斯特（Andrew Forrest，因幼时瘦弱，绰号“柴禾棒”(Twiggy)）。该公司将价格暴跌归咎于其竞争对手——跨国公司必和必拓(BHP Billiton)与力拓(Rio Tinto)，指责它们的过量供应冲击了铁矿石市场，拉低了行业利润和税收收入，威胁到就业，从而损害了澳大利亚的利益。

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”.

该运动称，铁矿石税“帮助支付了学校、道路、警察局及养老金开支”，并补充说，这一行业需要一个“可持续、以澳大利亚为重心的未来”。

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.

此类亲澳大利亚观点似乎引起了共鸣。即使澳大利亚总理托尼縠伯特(Tony Abbott)都在思考：对铁矿石市场的运作进行调查是否明智。

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.

市场地位不高的铁矿石生产商Atlas Ironthat董事总经理戴维弗拉纳根(David Flanagan)支持由议会进行调查的观点，他说，普通的澳大利亚人需要了解铁矿石价格如何被设定以及这个行业如何运作。这家原本快要被遗忘的公司此前由于与供应商及承包商达成了一笔复杂交易而再次被记起。

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.

弗拉纳根说，必和必拓与力拓的言论应该对价格下跌负部分责任，它们继续扩大生产的计划吓到了许多投资商和交易商。

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.

这些跨国公司通过行业游说团体——澳大利亚矿业协会(Minerals Council of Australia)进行了回击，称限制产量不会有用。该委员会已经发起了一项与“我们”运动针锋相对的网络和社交媒体运动，名为“铁矿石真相”(Iron Ore Facts)，誓言要澄清围绕这一行业的种种“误解”。

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.

一个事实（或者至少是预测）是，铁矿石对未来10年澳大利亚经济的价值将达到6000亿美元，超过过去10年的水平。