Over the last three months bitcoin has doubled in value every month, but with the gains have come some truly scary volatility. In the last week of November bitcoin dropped $2,000, plunging from north of $11,000 to $9,428 in just one session. But as of Sunday, bitcoin was on the move again, last trading at $11,274.

So it seems only natural that with many investors piling into cryptocurrency and blockchain technology companies, some precious metals companies might be tempted to make a pivot.

That's exactly what happened with a small Israeli gold company that decided six weeks ago to refocus on blockchain and cryptocurrencies. According to its website Natural Resource Holdings (TLV:NLH) has acquired five deposits in North America hosting a combined 1,590,000 ounces of gold, 34.5 million ounces of silver, and 430,000 tonnes of zinc/lead. Then the focus changed to bitcoin.

In the last month and a half the shares of NLH have leapt 1300% in Israeli New Shekels. According to Bitcoin.com the company's first step is to acquire a Canadian bitcoin mining farm, and is in negotiations with BACKBONE Hosting Solutions to buy 75% of its shares in exchange for 75% of its own stock. Bitcoin.com says the announcement has made NLH the 10th most actively traded stock on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.

Could other gold companies follow suit and lead to an eclipse of gold by bitcoin, with a rush of investors fleeing the gold space? According to renowned precious metals investor Frank Holmes, the answer is likely no.

That's because gold has other uses besides currency, it doesn't need massive amounts of power to be traded, and it is far more liquid. Or in his words:

For one, cryptos are strictly forms of currency, whereas gold has many other time-tested applications, from jewelry to dentistry to electronics.

Unlike cryptos, gold doesn’t require electricity to trade. This makes it especially useful in situations such as hurricane-ravished Puerto Rico, where 95 percent of people are reportedly still without power. Right now the island’s economy is cash-only. If you have gold jewelry or coins, they can be converted into cash—all without electricity or WiFi.

Finally, gold remains one of the most liquid assets, traded daily in well-established exchanges all around the globe. Every day, some £13.8 billion, or $18 billion, worth of physical gold are traded in London alone, according to the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA). The cryptocurrency market, although expanding rapidly, is not quite there yet.

The workshop offers opportunity for private sector companies and community members to present problems and constraints and to decide on opportunities for cooperation and solutions for improved management in Mongolia. Civil society input is an important part of the stakeholder consultation process, and Mongolia is leading the way, in ensuring local stakeholders inputs are included in the strategy.

The workshop was organized under the REDD+ Mongolia’s civil society platform called the Forest and Sustainable Development Council. This was established to provide input to the development of policies and measures, and ensure local stakeholder and communities viewpoints are considered. The Council has provided considerable input towards development of the national REDD+ strategy and currently has over 18 representatives of organizations. A REDD+ strategy will be developed which aims to reduce forests degradation, enhance forests resources and provide economic opportunities for Forest User Groups and Enterprises as part of Mongolia’s sustainable development goals.

Mo Munshi, a dual UK and Australian citizen, has been in detention in Ulaanbaatar since June.

The November appeal upheld the original sentence of 11 years in prison and penalty damages of 31 billion Mongolian Tugriks (around $16.7 million Australian dollars), but the court added a further penalty involving the suspension of mining licences.

Mr Munshi’s case now goes to the Mongolian Supreme Court and, according to his son Arif, may be heard “sometime in January 2018”.

“Dad could be moved at any point to a regional closed prison. Visitation rights are one short visit in 90 days and one long visit once in 120 days”.

He said the restrictions apply to lawyers and family alike. “Consular staff may be able to visit more often but they are unclear as to what they intend to do if dad gets moved” he said.

Radio 6PR was contacted by a man from Tasmania by the name of Ben who claims to be connected to the Mongolian ex-pat community.

Ben said that he had been in touch with a foreign national who had spent time in a cell with Mr Munshi and that “Mo’s back is in very bad shape and he is struggling to walk”.

Mr Munshi’s Perth lawyers who travelled to Mongolia in September described the conditions in detention as “bleak”, and echoed the family’s concerns about his deteriorating health.

They say he has been imprisoned in Mongolia for a civil matter and have called on the Federal Government for assistance.

Arif said the lack of assistance was disappointing. “It’s extremely distressing for us,” he said.

The arrangement was approved by the Supreme Court of British Columbia but it remains subject to final approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. In the meantime, trading of shares of CobalTech will be halted. The shares have to be delisted from the TSX Venture Exchange at close of December 4, 2017.

As a result of the merger, CobalTech shareholders will receive 0.2632 of a common share of First Cobalt for each CobalTech share held and CobalTech will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of First Cobalt. All outstanding share purchase warrants of CobalTech have also been exchanged.

First Cobalt, a firm that began drilling at the Cobalt Camp in 2017, controls over 10,000 hectares of prospective land and 50 historic mining operations as well as a mill and the only cobalt refinery in North America permitted to produce battery materials.

The company is currently advancing its Silver Centre property, a 2,100-hectare site in the historic mining camp located 400 kms north of Toronto and 25 kms south of Cobalt, Ontario. The property includes the formerly active Keely-Frontier mine, a high-grade mine that produced over 3.3 million pounds of cobalt and 19.1 million ounces of silver.

The miner expects to discover new high-grade cobalt and silver mineralization at the site, based on results from a 2012 exploration program.

“Over a very short period we have created the largest cobalt exploration company in the world, controlling almost half of what we believe may be the most prospective cobalt district outside of the DRC. We intend to pursue an aggressive exploration program in 2018 while continuing to assess other growth opportunities," First Cobalt's President & Chief Executive Officer, Trent Mell, said in a corporate press release.

Rio Tinto senior independent director Ann Godbehere said “The Rio Tinto board would like to thank Jan for his significant contribution as chairman of Rio Tinto. He led the board during considerable transformation of the company.
“The board is delighted to have appointed Simon to chair Rio Tinto. He brings to the role a deep understanding of the mining industry, as well as a strong track record as a non-executive.”
Simon Thompson said “I am honoured to accept this role and to succeed Jan as chairman. Rio Tinto is in great shape, with a strong management team, world-class assets and a successful strategy. I look forward to leading the board as we work with J-S and his team to ensure that Rio Tinto continues to deliver superior returns for its shareholders by maintaining its capital discipline and ‘value-over-volume’ approach”.
Rio Tinto chairman Jan du Plessis said "I am really pleased to be succeeded by Simon, especially given how closely we have worked together since he joined the board some three years ago. I wish him the very best. I am handing over the baton at a time when the business is in great shape and Rio Tinto has the strongest balance sheet in the sector”.
Upon assuming the role of chairman, Mr Thompson will step down as chairman of the Rio Tinto remuneration committee and will also cease to be a member of the audit committee. Sam Laidlaw, who previously chaired the remuneration committee at HSBC Holdings plc, will succeed Mr Thompson as chair of the Rio Tinto remuneration committee with effect from 5 March 2018.

A campaign to shut down furnaces that produce steel that fails to meet environmental and quality standards has created a 68 million-ton glut of scrap iron in China, said Seiichi Hayashi, head of Steel Recycling Research, a Japanese scrap iron research firm.

The export drive began in April, and as scrap found its way to Vietnam, one of Japan's largest markets for scrap iron, the Japanese industry was left to fret.

China's scrap iron exports spiked to 15,000 tons in April from a monthly average of 240 tons in the first quarter of 2017. They further skyrocketed to 80,000 tons in May and 510,000 tons in September. This compares with Japan's monthly average of 680,000 tons during the first 10 months of the year.

Concerns about the Chinese deluge temporarily pushed down scrap iron prices in Japan. But since Beijing regards scrap iron as an important resource, it levies a 40% export tax on the material, dimming prospects that China will start flooding markets with cheaper product in the near future.

"We are not overly concerned that Chinese exports may flood the Japanese market and cause prices to sink," said Kazuyoshi Aizawa, president of a scrap dealer in Kawasaki.

Tokyo Steel Manufacturing this spring did import Chinese scrap for its plant in Kyushu, in the south of the country.

For plants in Kyushu, which is close to China, this makes sense, said an executive at a steelmaker that uses electric furnaces in Japan's eastern Kanto region. But the company has no intention of following suit because transportation costs would offset the benefits, the executive added.

There are also concerns about the quality of Chinese scrap iron. "We cannot be 100% confident about the quality," said a manager in charge of purchasing at a blast-furnace steelmaker. "We have no plan to buy [Chinese scrap] no matter how cheap it is."

Attitudes are different in other Asian markets. In September, when Chinese scrap iron exports hit this year's monthly high for the first 10 months of the year, China exported 68,000 tons to Vietnam. Japan exported 129,000 tons to the country that month.

The figures alarm the Japanese industry because monthly Chinese exports to Vietnam were less than 10,000 tons until May and 20,000 tons in June.

Chinese exports can take land routes to Vietnam, which gives them a big advantage over those from Japan. "Offers for Japanese scrap iron from Vietnam have been decreasing," Aizawa said. "There is no doubt that Chinese exports are roiling Asian markets."

If Japanese exports decline due to Chinese competition, Hayashi of Steel Recycling Research said, domestic scrap prices will fall.

The images were captured during a probe of the No.3 reactor by a remote-controlled robot in July.

The probe confirmed for the first time the existence of lumps that are likely to be fuel debris as well as damaged components of the reactor.

Fuel debris is a mixture of melted nuclear fuel and broken reactor parts. It is believed to be accumulating inside the containment vessels of the 3 reactors that underwent meltdowns at the plant.

Tokyo Electric Power Company officials said on Thursday night that one of the images taken just below the pressure vessel of the No.3 reactor shows damaged tube-shaped devices that were used to insert control rods into the reactor.

They said they also confirmed that the cables laid along a supporting structure called a pedestal were severely damaged.

The officials said the cables, which are connected to thermometers, will melt only at temperatures over 1,000 degrees Celsius. They said this could suggest that molten fuel and other objects fell from the reactor and inflicted the damage on the cables.

Tokyo Electric plans to conduct further analyses as part of its efforts to work out ways to remove the fuel debris. The removal is an important step toward decommissioning the disabled plant.