Traceability

Sustainability is a key factor for tin production and trade due to its frequent exploitation in conflict affected zones. Consequently, the mining sector is challenged in supplying the demand for this metal while ensuring ethical practices that prevent conflict or Human Rights violations. The aim is to preserve natural resources and promote socio-economic development in such regions.

Minsur has assumed a protagonist role in the mining industry by incorporating several standards and tools in its operations to comprehensively address environmental, social, and governance aspects. As a result, it developed its “SusTINable” brand, which ensures a long-time supply of a high-quality product that meets sustainability standards.

The company has outlined an ambitious sustainability plan towards 2030, focused on health and safety, environmental care, responsible governance, and the creation of shared value together with employees, suppliers, and communities. The strategy proposes a set of priorities, objectives, and short-, mid- and long-term goals that will help achieving expected results in the four cores mentioned above.

 

We are aware that the world needs mechanisms that ensures the provenance of tin produced to all stakeholders linked to the value chain, from industrial customers to the final user of products with tin components. Hence, Minsur has implemented a platform that uses advanced technology to trace all the tin that it produces.

The platform was developed together with the German company Minespider. With it, Minsur has become the world’s first mining company to apply blockchain technology to verify the source of all its tin production.

This innovation allows companies who trade and transform tin, to prove that the source of its tin is not associated with violence or any violations of Human Rights.

This technology -used to trace tin- not only strengthens transparency of Minsur’s value chain, but emerges as a disruptive solution to stop the financing of violent groups who take advantage of conflict mineral production.

With this milestone, Minsur confirms its global leadership in the mining industry and its firm commitment to a more transparent and ethical future. Its dedication to these principles, through their tangible commitments, contributes to a sustainable industry that is essential for the development of new technologies for the benefit of our global society.

Blockchain technology is unique in iaddressing a crucial problem for traceability: the reliability of information.

In their supply chain management, several companies participate in tracing of data from producers, traders, manufacturers, and final retailers. Some of them use solid audit and control mechanisms, while others do not provide reliable information. Furthermore, when dealing with complex industries with several production stages, it is hard to trace information on material transformation, since materials are constantly processed and mixed in intermediate products.

Consequently, it is necessary to keep track of a considerable number of information, in printed or electronic documents, whose recording process is usually controlled only by the company that produces it. This means that if information is tampered with, it is hard for other stakeholders to contrast and compare it, which makes the information unreliable overall.

The use of blockchain in a platform shared by all stakeholders along the value chain, makes it possible to immediately detect any tampering of recorded information due to the main characteristics of this system.

Firstly, each record of information is converted into a digital encrypted tag, which is chained to a block comprised of tags of previous records. Then, the system distributes the block to all platform users to validate the records in a decentralized manner. If the any information on previous records has been tampered with, the tags implemented in the block will not match those copies saved by other users and the system will not accept the new record. Contrarily, if no manipulation has occurred, the new information block is added to the chain of blocks shared by all users and will serve to validate future records.

This system ensures trust among platform users since the recording of information is controlled and supervised by all actors involved.

One of the main impacts of blockchain for supply chain traceability is that it has encouraged several companies to share data with each other in an unprecedented way. Trust in the system’s safety and efficacy has been key to engage companies that would not have considered participating in joint initiatives to promote sustainability and transparency.

Aiming at reassuring its stakeholders that its tin meets quality and sustainability standards, Minsur and Minespider have developed a digital passport.

This passport contains data of the physical shipment proving that it is sourced in Minsur and it also incorporates data on audits, assessments of the responsible mineral assurance process, and several certifications, such as that of the Swiss company Société Générale de Surveillance (SGS) and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). This system ensures our customers of the responsible work of the company and that they are purchasing Minsur-quality tin.

This information is added to each batch produced, using QR codes, which are incorporated in the Pisco smelting plant and the point of export in Lima. Customers can then scan these codes and access the block chain information easily developed and stored by Minespider. The hashes (encrypted codes) are stored there and the system uses them to compare and verify which data corresponds to each shipment. This way, the system leads users to a Minespider server saved in the cloud, where they can find the information.

The encrypting system used by this technology allows all users to see the existing data packages and digital passports, but only the data owner is allowed to read the contents.