Because it is impossible to manufacture and traditionally difficult to extract and process from the ground, gold served as a stable peg for coinage and paper money issuance--but no nation operates on a "gold standard" today, as most abandoned it during the 20th century after major powers suspended it periodically during times of costly military adventures during the 19th century.
It's dawning on a lot of MPs that they could well have to deal with proposals to bring "fracking", the controversial process to extract shale gas from rocks, in their constituencies.
Chinese firms now are attempting to negotiate partnerships with FTS International, a Fort Worth, Texas, company that specializes in hydraulic fracturing, a process used to extract energy from shale, according to one person familiar with the matter.