How blockchain technology can increase operational control & transparency in mining.
Industry leaders across various sectors are eager to adopt blockchain technology in their businesses. And whether you understand it of the bat or, like many others had to secretly Google “blockchain for dummies”, it’s a form of tech that is in the process of reinventing every space it enters.
With the global adoption of blockchain, the mining industry is currently undergoing a rapid transformation too. This transformation has brought more transparency, security and accountability to the industry and is rapidly becoming the norm.
What is the blockchain and why you should care
Putting it in its simplest form, blockchain is a way of maintaining consensus on a decentralised distributed network. If you have lots of disparate parties with no central authority, how do you make sure they all agree?
That’s where blockchain comes in. Every time a new “block” is solved it is included in the chain. What goes into a block is just data and this data can be anything really. The most obvious example is financial transactions i.e. bitcoin.
It maintains consensus because every time a new block is solved (usually every 10 minutes or so), all participants must agree on the state of the blockchain ensuring every update will always match. That way all copies march in lockstep, even though there is no one central master copy.
Mining Trends that are emerging from the blockchain revolution
Asset traceability
Mining companies will be able to utilize the blockchain to trace every mineral extracted, leading to higher transparency and increasing confidence in the trade market. Mines will also be able to trace and secure digital ledgers, which is a great selling point for investors too.
During the logistics of mining (transportation of material from pit to port) blockchain also helps to ensure fleet truck contractors and mine operators are constantly on the same page. AVA is implementing this technology with cloud-based dashboards keeping all stakeholders up to date, at all times.
Genuineness of the product
With increased accountability in all facets of mining, comes increased buyer security. With the high costs of precious metals and stones, buyers can be assured of genuineness by being able to track the entire journey of their process. This increase confidence in mines will ensure trust and thus be able to improve public perception of both mines and minerals.
Transparent supply chain
The mining supply chain differs wildly from mine to mine, however, one thing remains consistent between all operations: every mining supply chain is filled with stages that could send the minerals on numerous trips around the globe. Having a centralized and secure manner to keep track of this complicated process allows mine owners to have a full view of the process from extraction to payment.
With the hype around the blockchain and seemingly every company rushing to implement it, we can expect the blockchain revolution to be in the cultural lexicon.
AVA and the blockchain
At AVA we get excited about technology, and blockchain is firing up our aspirations because of the opportunity it provides in solving some of our client’s biggest problems. Multiple points of reconciliation across their value chain is just one of those applications. Our logistics solution is one of the areas we are taking blockchain technology to town.
As a technology company, we never want to stop learning, stop applying, or stop testing. When new problems arise in our client’s worlds, we seek unique data-driven solutions.
