It is always a key moment when a proof of concept turns into reality.
During the fourth sprint we relayed how we had been looking to design our product for the gold market as well as developing our partnership model. We believe that to evolve the outdated mineral supply chain, it is going to be crucial to forge alliances and partnerships with those who share our mission of securing the mineral supply chain from earth to tech with traceability, transparency and trust.
And so, as we have transitioned from Sprint 4 to Sprint 5, we continue to make significant progress.
November has seen us take a significant step forward in terms of delivery our programmes on the ground.
The first kilo of gold has been exported from Burkina Faso and tracked via the Minexx platform.
Burkina Faso, in West Africa, produces 34 tonnes of artisanal gold per year, however only 300kg was formally exported in 2019 due to a lack of traceability and lower export taxes in neighbouring countries. The Burkina Faso government have now lowered the taxes when exporting through Aneemas L’Agence Nationale d’Encadrement des Exploitations Minières Artisanales et Semi-artisanales (ANEEMAS), the government body for artisanal and small scale production.
Minexx has been working closely with local traders, NGO partners and ANEEMAS to drive production via a traceable route to market. During this export the different batches from different sources were tracked on the Minexx platform, along with information obtained through due diligence and associated reports from site visits.
The key learning here is that despite the immense challenges faced in the last 18 months in particular that progress is possible.
New strategic partnership with Solidaridad in key gold markets
Minexx has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Solidaridad, the leading global organisation focused on creating fair and sustainable supply chains, to improve Africa’s mineral supply chain, specifically in gold markets.
This partnership is really important to Minexx. Solidaridad brings such a wealth of experience and scale. Its significant geographical reach, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, is also crucial as we look to expand the Minexx proposition and platform. There is also an alignment of mission about making mineral supply chains work better, smarter, and fairer.
We will announce our first joint projects through this partnership in the coming months.
The broader learning here is that partnerships are key, both now and in the future.
A fair transition
As the eyes of the world were on the COP26 climate talks in Glasgow, it is crucial to note that to achieve net zero we are going to require even more minerals and this is going to have an impact on countries around the world, and particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.
Therefore, it is more important than ever that we move with pace, leveraging technology to provide solutions to the challenges the world faces and to play our role in delivering benefits to all in the supply chain – from the artisanal miners through to the consumer.
For the next steps Minexx are focused on deploying their fintech product to serve the sector – stay tuned!
