WEF's Mining Blockchain Initiative Aims for 'Industry-Wide Trust'

Specifically, the "Mining and Metals Blockchain Initiative" will include building an inclusive blockchain platform, which will ostensibly help to increase "Transparency, efficiency or improve reporting of carbon emissions" across the industry.

First, in April 2018, the WEF published the "Blockchain Beyond the Hype" paper, stressing that blockchain deployment should not be a goal in and of itself.

A few months after, the organization highlighted blockchain's significance to the mining and metals industry in particular, citing less paperwork, faster transactions, compliance and sustainability among primary reasons.

In July this year, the WEF issued The Blockchain Value Framework guide, which was a more concrete framework for "Those business leaders that have figured out blockchain is the right solution for a specific problem, but don't know what to do next," as explained at the time by Sheila Warren, Head of Blockchain at the World Economic Forum.

"Supply chain data is very sensitive, and before blockchain there was no solution that could enable traceability without companies sacrificing their sensitive supply chain data. The only real alternative to using blockchain right now is to be content with not knowing the origins of our products."

For tracking products, the industry currently relies mostly on automated databases and physical paperwork, adds Richard Verkley, CEO at Karuschain, the company behind a blockchain tracing and tracking solution for the precious metals industry.

"Where current alternatives fail is they have an inability to reject data manipulation as quickly or totally like a blockchain consensus mechanism. Blockchain systems can ensure that the source of the precious metal can be traced without manipulation."

Ultimately, blockchain helps to solve two major issues for the metals and mining industry: traceability and consistent verification throughout the entire supply chain, as explains Dr. Nicholas Garrett, CEO of advisory firm RCS Global Group.

"Blockchain alone only helps to solve the first challenge and there is little value in traceability alone outside of supplier management efficiencies. Only when combining blockchain technology with assurance mechanisms solving the second challenge becomes the use of blockchain really interesting from a responsible sourcing perspective."

"This blockchain consortium - with collaboration between forwarding thinking companies, and regulators, NGOs and technology providers - with blockchain and distributed ledger technology has a great potential for industry adoption and value creation."