Blockchain-based Mineral Tracking and Tracing
Sector: Primary sector · Industry: Mining and raw materials · Organisation: Minespider, Aura Blockchain Consortium · Maturity level: Production
Minespider provides an open blockchain protocol for creating digital certificates to track minerals throughout global supply chains without gaps. The system already tracks over 10% of global tin production and collaborates with leading companies like Minsur in Peru and Rwanda. The solution addresses the lack of transparency in complex mineral supply chains and enables verification of origin from conflict areas.
Documentation status
- Project status: Production
- Evidence: Evidence high
- Editorial review: Ufuk Avci, 15 April 2026
Description
Minespider is a technology company founded in 2018 with offices in Germany and Ireland, which has developed an open, decentralised blockchain protocol for tracing minerals in global supply chains. The protocol is public, free, and interoperable — no single organisation controls the data. It records origin, certifications, and compliance documents across all transformation steps in the manufacturing process.
Minespider was founded in 2018 and received EU funding under the H2020 programme for two projects (CORDIS-ID 835775 and 946437). The protocol is specifically designed to trace conflict minerals — gold, tin, tantalum, tungsten, cobalt — in global supply chains, even when materials are transformed multiple times during manufacturing. Three core components: the blockchain layer (decentralised, without central control), the application layer (enterprise software), and the SILQ utility token. In the Phase 1 project (December 2018 – June 2019), pilots were conducted with over 20 Fortune 500 companies and their suppliers. Specific partners: Volkswagen (traceability of the lead supply chain for batteries), Google (tin traceability with LuNa Smelter Rwanda), Ford Otosan (Battery Passport for e-bus compliance with EU Battery Regulation), LuNa Smelter (conflict-free tin supplier from Africa). Minespider is recognised by the Responsible Minerals Initiative, EIT Raw Materials, UNECE, and the World Economic Forum. The protocol helps companies comply with the EU Conflict Minerals Regulation, the EU Battery Regulation, and the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act.
Perspectives
B2B — organisations perspective
Manufacturers of electronic products and electric vehicles can create compliance evidence for conflict minerals via the Minespider protocol and pass it on to downstream actors — without having to build their own blockchain infrastructure. The protocol is free for all actors to use.
B2C — consumers perspective
End consumers gain insight into the origin of the minerals in their products through Battery Passports and Digital Product Passports — for example, cobalt in e-bus batteries or tin in electronic devices.
Employees perspective
Compliance and sustainability officers can capture and share due diligence documentation directly via the Minespider protocol, instead of having to go through complex manual certification processes individually with each customer.
Benefits
General
- The system enables seamless tracking of minerals even in complex supply chains with multiple transformation stages.
- Companies can improve their ESG performance through verifiable transparency and compliance with international standards.
- Automated verification significantly reduces manual inspection processes and associated costs.
B2B — organisations
- Mining companies and manufacturing plants can meet their compliance requirements more efficiently while strengthening their reputation through verifiable ethical sourcing.
B2C — consumers
- Consumers gain direct access to origin information of their purchased products by scanning QR codes and can make informed purchasing decisions.
Employees
- Compliance and procurement staff receive automated tools for risk assessment and can support their reporting with verified blockchain data.
Challenges
General
- Integrating various systems and coordinating all supply chain actors requires significant organisational effort.
- The quality of the entered data is crucial for the system's credibility and requires continuous monitoring.
B2B — organisations
- Companies need to adapt existing ERP systems and IoT infrastructures to the blockchain solution and train employees accordingly.
Employees
- Employees need training in handling blockchain technology and must integrate new digital workflows into their daily work.
Technology foundation
The system uses a decentralised blockchain architecture with proof-of-authority consensus, which is very energy-efficient and does not allow central control by individual actors. The technology combines blockchain with IoT integration and offers three different privacy and transparency levels for the varying requirements of supply chain actors.
Implementation examples
Tin supply chain tracking with Minsur
Minsur wanted to improve the transparency of their tin supply chains while simultaneously meeting international compliance requirements regarding conflict-free minerals. The company sought a solution that would both enhance their reputation and increase the efficiency of their reporting.
Minsur uses the Minespider protocol for seamless tracking of their tin production in Peru and Rwanda.
The Peruvian mining company Minsur has partnered with Minespider to improve the transparency and traceability of their tin supply chains. The system documents the entire journey of the tin from the mines in Peru and Rwanda to the end products, creating digital certificates for each production step. The implementation enables Minsur to comply with international regulations and provide their customers with verifiable proof of origin.
The system solves the problem of lacking traceability in complex tin supply chains and allows Minsur to document the origin of their materials comprehensively. At the same time, compliance processes are automated and manual reporting is reduced.
Tags
Supply chain, Transparency, Compliance, ESG, Traceability