澳大利亚将会引发新的淘金热

Australia is poised¹ to overtake South Africa and the U.S. as the world's second-largest producer of gold as new mines boost output to meet a sharp rise in international demand. A giant facility south of Perth near the town of Boddington is leading the charge. Production has just started at what will be Australia's biggest gold mine that aims for an output of a million ounces a year.

After recent falls, Australia's gold output has bounced（反弹） back and is worth about $7 billion annually².

The new gold rush has been boosted by production at the open cast Boddington mine in Western Australia that's owned by American resources company, Newmont.

Spokeswoman Annette Dix says the project has lofty ambitions.

"For the first five years, we will be the biggest goldmine in Australia. Eventually, it will be the size of the Perth CBD," she said.

Since the decision to develop the site near Perth was made in the late 1990s, the gold price has tripled. The facility expects to produce about $1.4 billion of the precious metal each year.

The development has transformed Boddington from a small community with a dozen shops into a prosperous hub of activity that's attracted 4,000 mine workers.

Gary Sherry from the local council is looking forward to the good times.

"Certainly we're a boom town, but I don't see a bust³ for Boddington. While things will calm down once the construction of the gold mine is finished, there'll be continued growth over 20 years as the mine slowly develop their resource, and that is 20 years of growth for our town," he said.

Prices for gold are approaching $1,000 an ounce and international investors⁴, especially those in China, are taking a keen interest in the trade.

China remains⁵ the world's largest producer of gold. Analysts⁶ have predicted that increases to Australia's output could see it overtake the United States and South Africa as the second most important source of a precious commodity that shows few signs of going out of fashion. （本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑）

1 poised   

a.摆好姿势不动的

参考例句：

• The hawk poised in mid-air ready to swoop. 老鹰在半空中盘旋，准备俯冲。
• Tina was tense, her hand poised over the telephone. 蒂娜心情紧张，手悬在电话机上。

2 annually   

adv.一年一次，每年

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。

3 bust   

vt.打破；vi.爆裂；n.半身像；胸部

参考例句：

• I dropped my camera on the pavement and bust it. 我把照相机掉在人行道上摔坏了。
• She has worked up a lump of clay into a bust.她把一块黏土精心制作成一个半身像。

4 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

5 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

6 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。