MineHub Technologies says it has completed development of its technology platform to improve efficiency in trading operations and environmental and social governance (ESG) compliance in mining and metals supply chains.

The company has been working on this project in collaboration with IBM and leaders across the mining supply chain including ING Group, Wheaton Precious Metals, Ocean Partners USA, Kutcho Copper, Capstone Mining and White & Case LLP.

The MineHub Platform is now live, with initial usage and transactions with consortium members anticipated to commence within the next few weeks as well as the addition of new industry participants to the platform.

“MineHub’s first release offers comprehensive functionality that enables miners to capture mineral production and digital contracts with buyers, streamline the post-trade operations (including document flow), financing and logistics,” MineHub said.

The platform is aimed at a wide variety of company types and sizes including SME and large corporate miners, trading houses, financial institutions, alternative financiers, streamers, logistics companies and assayers, the company said. It can provide benefits across industry verticals including mineral concentrates, bulk metal and fertiliser, according to MineHub.

The company continued: “The $1.8 trillion global mining and metals market has traditionally suffered from inefficiencies due to manual, paper-based processes and a lack of transparency among supply chain participants. By digitising the supply chain, increasing levels of automation and providing greater traceability, MineHub Platform users are expected to be able to streamline their operations, improve profit margins and contribute to sustainable supply chains and responsible sourcing.”

Arnoud Star Busmann, CEO of MineHub, said delivering the MineHub platform on schedule would not have been possible without the support from all its partners and IBM.

“We are excited about having the first trades going through the platform in the coming weeks and from there start demonstrating the benefits of the solution, in particular the cost savings from streamlining operations, improving access to finance and enabling mineral provenance.”

The MineHub platform is built on the IBM Blockchain platform using the open-source Hyperledger Fabric standards. MineHub allows its customers to benefit from several innovations, according to the company, with the parties involved in selling, buying, delivering and paying for a cargo of minerals now able to collaborate securely in real-time, “working in an integrated cross-company workflow, sharing electronic information rather than couriering or emailing paper documents that are subject to interception, fraud and cyber threats”, MineHub said.

By providing an immutable record of transactions, MineHub is already helping its members streamline operations, improve key process efficiencies, and bring a new level of trust and transparency, according to Manish Chawla, General Managing Director, IBM Energy & Natural Resources.

“We anticipate considerable reduction in disputes on assays and logistics events by automating the capture of mineral provenance data,” he said. “This is an exciting advancement that will pave the way for traceability reporting as well.”

MineHub is expected to lead to transformative efficiencies, the company says, by:

• Streamlining operations, automating coordination and bringing trust and transparency to the process;
• Minimising the risk of document loss or delays;
•  Integrating the banks and lenders more directly with their customers’ operations;
• Helping to standardise, structure and digitalise marketing and trading administration, including contracts, trade confirmations, assays, letters of credit, logistics and shipping documents;
• Reducing disputes on assays and logistics events;
• Increased security through strong authentication of users and document origination, and reducing opportunities for bad actors;
• Automating reporting for treasury, lenders, royalty-holders and streamers, with real-time visibility of the production output and receivables; and
• Automating the capture of mineral provenance data, paving the way for traceability reporting and improving ESG compliance.