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SmartTribute is a blockchain platform for managing smart contracts (tributary agreements) between large-scale and small-scale mining operations.
About
Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) in Zimbabwe is a growing industry supporting 1.5 million people. However, it faces several challenges, including the high cost of operating mines using generators or fuel-driven machines, the difficulty in acquiring necessary equipment and machinery, and the need for government or Mines Ministry personnel to assist miners. This can lead to financial losses, injuries, and time wasted without production. Additionally, many claims or mines are lost to big companies, resulting in a loss of earnings for artisanal investors. To address these challenges, the government can adopt technology and establish a system linking Ministries to ease renewal, gold or mineral sales, payments, and registration. This can be adopted in the collaborations between large-scale mines (LSM). LSM can provide technical assistance, training, and equipment, help access markets, and reduce the negative environmental impact of ASM. This advances the responsible sourcing and mining of the ASM sector, making minerals more competitive in the market. Moreover, collaboration between LSM and ASM can help reduce the negative environmental impact
Value chains are grappling with increased uncertainty due to market instability and climatic changes. A threefold approach using artificial intelligence can help companies adapt to rapidly changing markets and operational challenges. Industries like mining must operate efficiently and recover quickly from setbacks, but these objectives often clash. The relationship between large-scale mines and artisanal small-scale mines faces challenges, as businesses may encounter bottlenecks and become less resilient. The Business and Economic Development theme emphasizes intervention as the first element of ASM-LSM collaboration. The conflict between local and downstream decisions in organizations is a challenge, as they often make decisions in silos without considering downstream implications, and achieving transparency across the value chain requires aligning stakeholders and diverse expectations.
The introduction of smart tributary agreements can help foster the relationship between LSM and ASM through a system of monitoring and tracking the processes involved in the mining agreement. Blockchain technology can enhance relationships between large and small-scale mines by promoting transparency, traceability, and accountability in the supply chain. It ensures ethical mineral sourcing, and fair pay for miners, and reduces environmental impact. Blockchain also enables small-scale miners to access markets and sell their minerals, providing a secure and transparent platform for transactions. Additionally, blockchain reduces fraud and corruption risks by providing a tamper-proof record of transactions. This has the potential to reduce the conflict that often exists between the LSM and ASM creating a sense of monitoring and responsibility for the parties involved. It is against this background that a project that focuses on Advancing Smart Tributary Agreements is being proposed.
Key Benefits
Fully digital end-to-end control towers can increase resilience by expanding the scope of real-time monitoring to anticipate and respond to upcoming or potential supply-chain disruption. In this way, AI allows for enhanced end-to-end planning, giving historically isolated functions the benefit of full transparency. AI can also improve communication between partners across the value chain, enabling improved decision-making and earlier detection and response to disruptions. Such transparency highlights the value of flexible demand, the more flexibility partners and internal stakeholders agree to, the more options the value chain has in reacting to challenges. Finally, the operating model can then be tailored to accommodate any new operational insights. The blockchain system can help to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) particularly SDG8,9,13 and 16.
SDG 8: Decent work and economic growth:
Blockchain can promote transparency and accountability in the mining sector, ensuring fair labor practices, better working conditions, and equitable distribution of benefits. By recording mining-related transactions and labor information on the blockchain, AI-powered analytics can help identify and address labor rights violations, child labor, and unsafe working conditions.
SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure:
Blockchain technology can enhance the efficiency and transparency of supply chains in the mining industry. By providing a decentralized and immutable ledger, blockchain enables the traceability of minerals, ensuring responsible sourcing and ethical practices. AI algorithms can analyze the blockchain data to identify areas for process optimization, resource allocation, and technological innovation within the mining sector.
SDG 13: Climate Action:
Blockchain and AI can assist in monitoring and reducing the environmental impact of mining activities. By integrating sensors, satellite imagery, and other data sources with blockchain records, AI algorithms can analyze and assess the carbon footprint, land use, and biodiversity impacts of mining operations. This information can be used to develop strategies for mitigating climate change and promoting sustainable land management practices.
SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and strong institutions:
Blockchain technology can enhance transparency and accountability in the mining sector, reducing corruption and illicit activities. By recording transactions on a decentralized and tamper-resistant ledger, blockchain can help prevent illegal mining, smuggling, and trade of conflict minerals. AI-powered analytics can identify anomalies and suspicious patterns in the blockchain data, supporting law enforcement efforts and strengthening institutions responsible for regulating the mining industry.
It is worth noting that the successful implementation of blockchain and AI in ASM and LSM requires collaboration among stakeholders, including governments, mining companies, local communities and technology providers. Ensuring inclusively, addressing digital divide issues, and providing capacity-building support are crucial to harnessing the potential of these technologies for sustainable development in the mining sector.
Applications
Blockchain technology can significantly impact LSM and ASM. It can provide transparency, traceability, and accountability in the supply chain, ensuring ethical mineral sourcing and fair pay for miners. Blockchain can also reduce environmental impact by tracking mineral origins. It can also help small-scale miners access markets and sell their minerals securely, reducing fraud and corruption risks. Additionally, blockchain fosters relationships between LSM and ASM by providing a secure and transparent platform for transactions, building trust, reducing conflicts, and promoting collaboration between the two sectors. The beneficiaries of the Blockchain smart contracts or tributary agreements system are the ASM and LSM.