MineHub to Develop Supply Chain Solution on IBM Blockchain Platform

By Swati Kishore

Just a few days after the announcement of IBM’s collaboration with major mining companies for a Blockchain pilot to track the cobalt supply from Congo, the American tech giant has announced another partnership with MineHub Technologies. The collaboration with MineHub will allow both parties to leverage Blockchain Technology in the mineral concentrates supply chain to reduce costs, and enhance operations, financing as well as logistics.

The Blockchain project will track the movement of mineral concentrates across the supply chain- from the mines to the end user.

As per the announcement, the mining tech firm MineHub is developing the mining supply chain Blockchain solution on top of the IBM Blockchain Platform. The solution is being developed in partnership with Ocean Partners USA Inc, ING Bank, Wheaton Precious Metal Corporation, Goldcorp Inc, and Kutcho Copper Corporation.

All the companies in the partnership have been selected strategically as they constitute major areas of the mining supply chain, be it trade, finance, mining, or streaming.  

The CEO and Founder of MineHub, Vince Sorace, elaborated on the Blockchain solution in a press release explaining how the digitization of the supply chain will eliminate third parties and hence make the process of transportation of goods faster, more efficient, and much cheaper. He said,

“We are working with some of the most forward-thinking and innovative companies from each area of the mining and metals industry. By digitizing the supply chain, we can increase the level of automation, reduce reliance on intermediaries and increase the speed at which goods are transferred from miners to end buyers. This creates an opportunity for transformative efficiencies and cost reductions throughout all aspects of operations. It is a significant advancement for an industry looking to integrate and use data in ways not previously possible.”

The first use-case of the Blockchain solution will track and manage the movement of concentrate mined by Goldcorp from its Penasquito mine located in Mexico, all through the supply chain.

Increased efficiencies, reduction of the costs of goods, and streamlining of operations, are some of the advantages of the deployment of Blockchain Technology in the supply chain. 2019 is off to a good start with many giants announcing partnerships for Blockchain pilots. On January 16, 2019, energy behemoths Reliance, Chevron and Total announced that they have joined the Blockchain platform Vakt to digitize the crude oil post-trade processes.