In the above graphic, we can see that Supply Chain Disruption and Digital and Innovation are part of the main risks. Evidently, the use of digital technologies can contribute to mitigate the Environmental and Sustainability governance as well.
On the other hand, the Minerals Council of Australia has identified Blockchain as one of the enabling technologies for the “Digital Mine” for the future and in a recent report it affirms that Blockchain guarantees digital transactions are authentic and unaltered and is increasingly finding favour in the mining industry to support efforts to demonstrate the provenance of sustainably mined minerals.
#### The precious metals industry supply chain is facing several problems and challenges that affect its efficiency, sustainability, and profitability. Some of the main issues are:
* The increasing demand for ethical and responsible sourcing of the metals, which requires more investment in social and environmental initiatives, certification, and compliance.
* The complex and fragmented nature of the supply chain, which involves multiple intermediaries, regulations, standards and stakeholders, creating inefficiencies, delays and costs.
* The high volatility and uncertainty of the market prices, which makes it difficult to plan and budget for the production and consumption of the metals.
* The lack of transparency and traceability of the origin and quality of the metals, which increases the risk of fraud, conflict minerals, environmental damage and human rights violations.
**To address these challenges and problems, the precious metals industry supply chain needs to adopt innovative solutions that leverage digital technologies, such as blockchain, smart contracts, IoT, AI and big data. These solutions can help in general to:**
* Enhance the transparency and traceability of the metals from mine to market, by creating a secure and immutable record of the transactions, provenance, quality, and impact of the metals.
* Improve the price discovery and risk management of the metals, by enabling real-time data analysis, forecasting, updated hedging of the market trends and fluctuations.
* Streamline and optimise the supply chain processes, by reducing the number of intermediaries, simplifying the compliance requirements, automating the contracts and payments, and facilitating the collaboration and communication among the stakeholders.
* Increase the ethical and responsible sourcing of the metals, by providing verifiable evidence of the social and environmental performance of the producers, consumers, and traders of the metals.
“Attributes of Commodity Supply Chains: Feasibility of Blockchain Technology for Responsible Sourcing by Betsy Tesy Mathew”
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