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By cutting the card, improving monitoring and allowing data sharing, blockchain will revolutionize the mining industry as we know it. ( Image: autonomous truck to the Rio Tinto Pilbara operations
Rio Tinto | Flickr. )
The blockchain technology and the intelligent contracts it allows are the next step in the evolution of the world. global offer of metals and chain mines, according to an article published Thursday by the global law firm White & Case.
The adoption of the technology sector behind Bitcoin cryptocurrency, seen by many as a solution to commercial inefficiency and regulation, is a question of "when, not if" says Rebecca Campbell, one of the authors of the paper and partner of White & Case.
"With today's press margins, inflationary costs and murmurs that the gains in productivity gains of recent times could erode mining companies are looking for ways to improve efficiency," says Campbell.
The platform could also help miners to increase market transparency and reduce the risk of fraud.
The role of Blockchain in the green space of energy r Sustainable and transparent supply chains could be a turning point, according to reports, thanks to its ability to promote trackability, transparency and security.
This type of distributed Ledger technology (DLT) uses a shared database that updates in real time and can process and adjust transactions in minutes without the need for third party verification.
The role of Blockchain in the green energy space and the most sustainable and transparent supply chains could be a turning point.
There are already some examples of the use of blockchain in the mining industry, with the diamond manufacturer n. 1 of De Beers worldwide value testing a newly developed platform that allows you to trace precious stones along the entire value chain, from mine to buyer.
With Tracr soon available for the entire diamond industry, De Beers can now verify the authenticity of its diamonds and make sure they do not come from conflict zones where gems could be used to finance violence.
BHP, the world's largest miner, is using blockchain with its suppliers, including the recording of wellbore rock and fluid sample movements and the protection of real-time data generated during production. And Barrick, the world's No. 1 gold producer, has pledged to invest $ 75 million this year in digital systems that aim to reduce operating costs and increase productivity.
Less mistakes, more security
Another key selling point of blockchain and their potential benefits for the global supply chain of mining and metals are the ability to perform "smart contracts" on them. An intelligent contract, explain the authors of the document, is a computer program stored in a blockchain that automatically transfers digital assets between accounts when the conditions encoded in the program are met.
Digitizing individual mineral-extracted packages as assets that can be traded on a blockchain platform could open up new investment and trading opportunities, say the authors. This is because the platform would allow people to participate in previously closed negotiations, adapting their purchases to the precise degrees of product currently available on the market.
From "Digitization of the global supply chain of metals and mines: increase of blockchain and intelligent contract." Courtesy of White & Case.
Allowing miners to trade more directly with customers has potentially profound implications for commercial houses, although so far the various digital platforms do not seem to have had a major impact on the role of commercial houses in the global supply chain .
When looking at the future of the mining industry and the way in which the blockchain can fit into it, there are still challenges to be overcome, from the fact that smart contracts are drafted by legal entities or programmers, on how to deal with the different laws on property rights, the document concludes.
