IBM which is one of the major technology and consulting firms have collaborated with MineHub Technologies which is primarily into blockchain technology in a bid to create and deliver blockchain solution for the enhancement of supply chain management and solution in the metals and mining industry. IBM announced it in their latest press conference. The idea is to improve operational efficiencies, logistics, and financing and reduce costs in the high-value mineral concentrates supply chain.
MineHub uses blockchain technologies in developing cost-reduction applications for the mining and metal industry. The newly created mining supply chain interface will be built on the cloud-based IBM Blockchain Platform which would be implemented with the help of the Linux Foundation’s Hyperledger Fabric.
Hyperledger is a project that aims at improving cross-industry blockchain technologies. Hyperledger is a large collaboration that is hosted by The Linux Foundation and includes IT giants like IBM, SUP, Intel, financial institutions J.P.Morgan and Deutsche Börse, engineering companies like Airbus and Daimler and a lot of blockchain and cryptocurrency-related start-ups. The best description of Hyperledger is a hub for open blockchain development for industries and enterprises. The developers of Hyperledger see blockchain as a technology influential enough to compare it with web technologies and want to use it for the development of blockchain-based operating systems for marketplaces, micro-currencies, digital communities, and data-sharing.
The global mining and metals market which amounts to almost 1.8 million had been facing issues like inefficient operations and management due to manual and paper-based processes which to a great extent lacked transparency. The particular product with Blockchain technology is believed to address these issues by providing a transparent recorded ledger which would create a single and real-time view of all the transactions and data flow across the supply chain which can be accessed by registered users. Each of the companies participating in this product development would represent core areas of the supply chain from streaming, mining, finance, and trade.
It will increase the level of automation, reduce reliance on intermediaries and increase the speed at which goods are transferred from miners to end buyers.
The first use case will be created on the MineHub platform and is expected to manage concentrate from Goldcorp’s Penasquito Mine in Mexico. Once the ore is mined, the mining company will upload data, including ethical practices and sustainability, allowing independent authentication from regulators to end users. When materials are loaded for transportation, the MineHub platform would be recording each transaction and allow only registered permissioned parties to view and reconcile transactional information throughout its course of a journey. Smart contracts for supply chain processes such as royalty contracts, trade finance, and streaming will be used by companies and other institutions which provide credit.
As per the latest news from the news agency Cointelegraph, it is believed that IBM will be using its Blockchain Platform to have an eye on the supplies of cobalt from the African nation of Congo along with support from a leading automobile company in the US, The Ford, producer of cathode in South Korean, LG Chem and China’s Huayou Cobalt.
Last year in September, Hong Kong-based jewelry firm Chow Tai Fook put records of its asset on a leger developed by blockchain firm Everledger and completely secured by the Blockchain Platform of IBM. This will help customers to ascertain the genuineness and authenticity of stones and gems sold in its stores.