MineHub Technologies announced it has completed development of its innovative technology platform that is designed to improve efficiency in trading operations and environmental and social governance (ESG) compliance in mining and metals supply chains. MineHub has been working in collaboration with IBM and industry leaders across the mining supply chain including ING Group, Wheaton Precious Metals, Ocean Partners USA, Kutcho Copper, Capstone Mining and White & Case.
The MineHub Platform is now live. Initial usage and transactions with consortium members are 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. The MineHub platform can be used by 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. MineHub provides benefits across industry verticals including mineral concentrates, bulk metal and fertiliser.
Arnout van Heukelem, Global Head of Mining, Metals and Fertilisers at ING Group said: “MineHub is another example of ING’s commitment to innovation and improving our customers’ businesses. ING is the world’s leading commodities bank, and this platform will not only further improve our customer service benchmark but also enable us to help our customers across products and functions.”
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 digitizing 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 our 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. The parties involved in selling, buying, delivering and paying for a cargo of minerals can now 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.
Manish Chawla, General Managing Director, IBM Energy & Natural Resources 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. We anticipate considerable reduction in disputes on assays and logistics events by automating the capture of mineral provenance data. This is an exciting advancement that will pave the way for traceability reporting as well.”
MineHub is expected to lead to transformative efficiencies by:
Streamlining operations, automating coordination and bringing trust and transparency to the process
Minimizing the risk of document loss or delays
Integrating the banks and lenders more directly with their customers’ operations
Helping to standardize, structure and digitalize 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
Automating the capture of mineral provenance data, paving the way for traceability reporting and improving ESG compliance
