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Russian scientists are claiming that a gigantic deposit of industrial diamonds found in a huge Siberian meteorite crater during Soviet times could revolutionize industry.
俄羅斯科學家表示，前蘇聯政府曾在西伯利亞地區一個巨大的隕石坑內，發現大型工業用鉆石礦，而這一發現有可能引發工業變革。
The Siberian branch of Russian Academy of Sciences said that the Popigai crater in eastern Siberia contains "many trillions of carats" of so-called "impact diamonds" -- good for technological purposes, not for jewelry, and far exceeding the currently known global deposits of conventional diamonds.
俄羅斯科學院西伯利亞分院表示，西伯利亞東部的珀匹蓋隕石坑內有“數萬億克拉”的“沖擊鉆”，是良好的工業鉆石，而不是用來打造珠寶。這一儲量比目前已知的全世界鉆石礦儲量的總和還超出很多。
Nikolai Pokhilenko, the head of the Geological and Mineralogical Institute in Novosibirsk, told the reporters Monday that the diamonds include other molecular forms of carbon. He said they could be twice as hard as conventional diamonds and therefore have superlative industrial qualities.
新西伯利亞市地質與礦物研究院院長尼古萊-波克希倫科本周一告訴記者，這種鉆石含有其他分子形式的碳，硬度是普通鉆石的兩倍，因此具有最高級的工業品質。
He said the minerals could lead to a "revolution" in various industries. "But they can't upset a diamond market because it is shaped by diamonds for jewelry purposes."
他說，這一礦藏會導致多個工業領域出現“革命”，“但不會擾亂鉆石市場，因為這一市場是由珠寶鉆石主導的?！?/p>
The deposit was discovered by Soviet scientists in the 1970s, but was left unexplored as the Soviet leadership opted for producing synthetic diamonds for industrial use. The deposit remained classified until after the Soviet collapse.
這一礦藏是前蘇聯科學家在上世紀70年代發現的，但前蘇聯領導人選擇制造人造鉆石用于工業用途，而沒有對礦藏進行勘探。直到前蘇聯解體，這一礦藏也不為人所知。
Pokhilenko said that the diamonds owe their unparalleled hardness to enormous pressure and high temperatures at the moment of explosion when a giant meteorite hit 35 million years ago, leaving a 60-mile crater.
波克希倫科說，3500萬年前，一顆巨大的隕石砸向此處，導致發生大爆炸，也留下了一個60英里的隕石坑。因此鉆石在爆炸時巨大的壓力和超高溫的作用下變得無比堅硬。
The Siberian branch of Russian Academy of Sciences said in a statement that scientists discussed the issue at a roundtable in Novosibirsk over the weekend, saying that further studies will be needed to assess economic aspects of their potential exploration.
俄羅斯科學院西伯利亞分院在聲明中說，科學家上周末在新西伯利亞召開的一次圓桌會議上討論了這一礦藏，表示若要評估未來勘探工作的經濟效益，還需要進一步研究。
Pokhilenko said his institute is planning to send an expedition to the crater in cooperation with Russia's state-controlled diamond mining company Alrosa.
波克希倫科說，研究院計劃向該隕石坑派遣一支勘探隊，與俄羅斯國有鉆石公司阿爾羅薩共同開發。
