Blockchain technology can help miners secure investment and future access
to markets through times of unprecedented change
By Carly Leonida, European Editor
In April, Berlin-based Minespider announced it had secured €2.8 million in funding to further develop its blockchain protocol for mineral sourcing.
The news is indicative, not just of the market’s increased appetite for transparency at every stage of mineral supply, but also of change in sentiment amongst mining investors.
“We applied for the funding last October, the bulk of it was from the European Union Commission’s Horizon 2020 grants, although there was also a portion from private investors,” Founder and CEO Nathan Williams explained.
“I think that we’ve hit a sore spot that the EU had, which is: how can we make it easier for companies that, by January 2021, are going to have reporting requirements for importing all of their material but don’t have a way of proving where it comes from?
“Especially now that COVID-19 has hit, people are really looking at priorities, as a government and as an economy. We would really like to have the new ‘Green Deal’ be successful, to have the history of all of these materials included in a traceable way, and a responsible new future for industry. There is a real need for that, and what we did was scratch that itch.”
The Minespider protocol allows companies to create digital “passports” for raw materials that keep track of where the materials come from and the conditions under which they were produced.
Williams explained that the new funding isn’t tied to a specific project; it will be used to further develop the Minespider platform and enable end-to-end testing so it can be fully commercialized.
to markets through times of unprecedented change
By Carly Leonida, European Editor
In April, Berlin-based Minespider announced it had secured €2.8 million in funding to further develop its blockchain protocol for mineral sourcing.
The news is indicative, not just of the market’s increased appetite for transparency at every stage of mineral supply, but also of change in sentiment amongst mining investors.
“We applied for the funding last October, the bulk of it was from the European Union Commission’s Horizon 2020 grants, although there was also a portion from private investors,” Founder and CEO Nathan Williams explained.
“I think that we’ve hit a sore spot that the EU had, which is: how can we make it easier for companies that, by January 2021, are going to have reporting requirements for importing all of their material but don’t have a way of proving where it comes from?
“Especially now that COVID-19 has hit, people are really looking at priorities, as a government and as an economy. We would really like to have the new ‘Green Deal’ be successful, to have the history of all of these materials included in a traceable way, and a responsible new future for industry. There is a real need for that, and what we did was scratch that itch.”
The Minespider protocol allows companies to create digital “passports” for raw materials that keep track of where the materials come from and the conditions under which they were produced.
Williams explained that the new funding isn’t tied to a specific project; it will be used to further develop the Minespider platform and enable end-to-end testing so it can be fully commercialized.
https://www.e-mj.com/features/blockchain-a-new-level-of-trust-for-miners/