By Oswaldo S. M. Nico, Carlos Henrique X. Araújo, Deborah Goldemberg, and Giorgio de Tomi.
Gold, a precious resource with global applications ranging from the financial market to the electronics industry, plays a critical role in the current energy transition towards clean technologies. The pursuit of responsibly sourced gold is becoming an undeniable global trend embraced by various sectors, including jewelry, biomedical engineering, and more.
The traceability of gold production and the application of blockchain technologies have been central topics of scientific research and innovation in international research centers (BALZAROVA et al., 2022; FINLAY, 2020). Simultaneously, the industry has extensively debated criteria for marketing gold with the Fair Trade standard (HILSON et al., 2018).
Innovative technological initiatives, such as mapping the geographic signature of gold, are also underway, as exemplified by projects seeking to “map the DNA of gold” (METALOR, 2023).
However, a fundamental element to enable blockchain chains to trace responsible gold production is the recording of the origin of production. This represents the first link in the value chain, where gold, originally a mineral substance, is transformed into a financial asset. Validating the responsible origin of gold is crucial for the success of this value chain.
To address this challenge and validate the origin of responsible gold in the first commercial transaction, the Responsible Gold Marketing Project (PCRO) was created.
This project involves collaboration with the University of São Paulo, through the Research Center for Responsible Small Mining (NAP.Mineração/USP), and the Foundation for Engineering Technological Development (FDTE), along with mining companies and third-sector entities that supported the initiative.
The result of this joint effort is an innovative tool with the mission of empowering buyers to make responsible purchasing decisions and guiding gold producers in responsible production.
The PCRO platform is cloud-hosted with dedicated infrastructure and offers access through commercial browsers, meeting the most up-to-date market standards.
For gold buyers, the platform performs an automatic analysis of compliance with the minimum PCRO criteria, ensuring an effective assessment of the non-compliance risk of the gold they wish to acquire. Additionally, the tool also provides the option to request more comprehensive analyses from platform experts, addressing all levels of compliance.
For gold producers, the PCRO platform provides clear guidance on achieving responsible mineral extraction, collaborating in highlighting responsible extraction operations and providing technical guidance to improve compliance with PCRO criteria.
For technicians operating the platform, it offers a clear and objective view of essential data for the analysis of non-compliance risk in gold production. All relevant information for this analysis is centralized on a single platform, including data from the National Mining Agency (ANM) processes, satellite images, tax information, licensing details, and geographical data, all in one convenient location.
The PCRO platform represents a significant step towards a more transparent and responsible gold industry, benefiting not only buyers and producers but the industry as a whole. Committed to promoting sustainability and responsibility in the gold value chain, PCRO is a significant achievement in the field of responsible mining.
Access the PCRO Platform: Visit https://pcro.com.br
(Source: Adapted from “PCRO: uma plataforma de fomento para a cadeia de valor de ouro responsável” – Brasil Mineral)
Full article: edition 428 of Brasil Mineral
REFERENCES
Balzarova, M., Dyer, C., & Falta, M. (2022). Perceptions of blockchain readiness for fairtrade programmes. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 185, 122086. Finlay, D.C. (2020). “The burden’of traceability in gold supply chains. Journal of Fair Trade, volume 2, issue 1, 22-26.
Hilson, G., Gillani, A., & Kutaula, S. (2018). Towards sustainable pro-poor development? A critical assessment of fair trade gold. Journal of Cleaner Production, 186, 894-904.
METALOR (2023). METALOR teaming up with the Universities of Lausanne and Geneva to get a DNA of gold. Available at: https://metalor.com/metalor-teaming-up–with-the-universities-of-lausanne-and-geneva-to-get-a-dna-of-gold/ (Accessed on March 10, 2023).
SBG (2023). Swiss Better Gold Association. Available at: https://www.swissbettergoldassociation.ch/ (Accessed on March 10, 2023).
NAP.Mineração/USP, Research Center for Responsible Small Mining of the Polytechnic School of the University of São Paulo www.usp.br/nap.mineracao
