From Mine to Market: A Blockchain Concept Note for Transparency in the Gold Industry
Investors buying Tanzanian gold have no way to verify where a parcel came from. A concept note for tracking provenance from artisanal miner to dealer, with geolocation and a timestamp at every hop.
Background
Tanzania has made significant progress in organizing and licensing gold dealers, but there remain opportunities for bad actors to smuggle gold into the country's supply chain. Investors want to purchase conflict-free gold in Tanzania, but have no way of determining the provenance of the gold parcels. AfroPavo Analytics was approached to find a solution that would offer greater transparency and an audit tool for the provenance of the source of gold to the buyers.
Solution
AfroPavo Analytics proposed the use of blockchain technology to track the supply chain of gold from artisanal miners to buyers, creating a permanent and auditable record at each step. By digitising the supply chain and adding location, weight and inspection data at every node, the network records each parcel's provenance from the mine to the dealer to the buyer.
Results
The proposed solution would bring transparency to the gold supply chain, enabling investors to confirm the provenance of the gold parcels they purchase. It would also provide a proof-of-concept for the use of blockchain to authenticate conflict-free gold parcels to the supply chain for buyers. The project also fits squarely into the wider push toward greater transparency in extractive industries.
