January 16, 2019 11:43 PM
The programs are intended to increase the efficacy and transparency of mining supply chains and help the industry police itself.
On January 16, IBM announced[1] partnerships with Ford, LG, and MineHub to launch two separate blockchain pilots focused on improving efficiency and transparency in the mining industry.
The first project is a collaboration with six companies that represent vital links in the mining supply chain: MineHub Technologies Inc., Goldcorp Inc, ING Bank, Kutcho Copper Corp., Ocean Partners USA Inc., and Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. The goal is to "help improve operational efficiencies, logistics and financing and reduce costs in the high-value mineral concentrates supply chain – from mine to end buyer."
Much of the mining industry's processes are still manual and paper-based, which creates inefficiencies and blind spots in the mining supply chain. The pilot program is meant to address this issue by creating a permissioned blockchain platform that participants can view in real time.
The pilot program's first use case will utilize the MineHub blockchain platform and test the technology's ability to "manage concentrate from Goldcorp's Penasquito Mine in Mexico throughout its path to market." Once the ore is mined, the data will be uploaded to the blockchain platform. It will include data about sustainability and ethical practices. The data is then verified by "independent regulators," and the ore can then be loaded for shipping. The MineHub platform records each transaction and lets participants "view and reconcile" this data as the product moves through the supply chain. EDCCs (better known as smart contracts) will be used by companies such as ING Bank and Wheaton Precious Metals for "trade finance, streaming and royalty contracts."
Manish Chawla, general manager of global industrial products at IBM, expressed his
