Response to Economist Article: Technology is the missing piece
The article, “Smuggler Paradise: Why it’s hard for Congo’s coltan miners to abide by the law” was included January 23rd issue of The Economist. The article rightly pointed to the challenges in reconciling our appetite for technology and the supply chains that lead to places like the Democratic Republic of Congo where minerals are mined. […]
How Blockchain can improve Artisanal Mining
The Current Value Chain is fundamentally flawed In the current system, mineral supply chains are complex and opaque. Their unnecessarily long and complex nature, due to many middlemen, often leaves end consumers confused and unclear as to where their minerals have originated from. The lack of traceability in the current value chains is preventing the […]
The Role of Government in Artisanal Mining
Why do Governments want to Reform? Governments in mineral-producing nations are committed to reforming the ASM sector due to how fundamental they are to their nation’s economy. In DRC, the mining industry provided over $1.5bn in public revenue, tenfold what oil & gas provided. However, this is a fraction of the industry’s true potential. To […]
Why digital payments and why now?
Why digital payments? Digital payments have been transformative in many industries and countries in the world. The Better than Cash alliance states that with digital payments there is a 47% reduction in incidents of corruption. Whilst bottom-of-the-pyramid workers benefit from financial inclusion that results in a 21% increase in output. Given this many countries have […]
Minexx complete digital payments pilot in DRC
Minexx has recorded the first export of minerals from DRC complete with digital payments certified on the blockchain. Digital payments have been transformative in many industries and countries in the world. The Better than Cash alliance states that with digital payments there is a 47% reduction in incidents of corruption. Whilst bottom-of-the-pyramid workers benefit from […]
Miners are like small-hold farmers
Many impact investors and VCs are unfamiliar with small-scale mining. To understand small-scale mining it is best to picture a rural farmer and go from there. Here are three similarities and one difference: Similarity 1: Miners are farmers Many small-scale miners farm. They use mining as their main source of income but supplement it with […]
Blockchain for Social Good
Minexx is a finalist in the Blockchain for Social Good award in Brussels 10th February 2020. This award is given by EU as part of Horizon recognizes leading technology companies using distributed ledger technology for societal good. Minexx tackles a fundamental challenge in today’s society: how to responsibly source minerals for people and planet. We […]
Why we are tackling responsible mineral sourcing
In our first blog post, we will discuss our four reasons for tackling the responsible mineral problem and why it is important to us and the world. Small-scale mining is unfair We believe in fairness. At its worst, small-scale mining supports child-labour and is used to fund conflict. More commonly, small-scale miners work in poor […]
