Our insights

  • Age: 27
    Location: Kolwezi, DRC
    Role: Artisanal Cobalt Miner
    Family: Supports 3 siblings
    Tech Access: Basic smartphone, often offline

    • Earn reliable daily income

    • Keep shipments verified so he isn’t underpaid

    • Work safely without losing batches during transport

    • No documentation proving what he mined

    • Exporters changing prices due to “missing records”

    • Long delays when connectivity is bad

    • No visibility into where minerals go or how much they’re worth

    • Simple offline-first mobile scanning

    • Proof-of-origin he can show exporters

    • Transparent pricing

    • A safe chain-of-custody system

Jake

Why it works

  • The demand for critical minerals like cobalt and lithium is projected to grow 4–6× by 2030 as electric vehicles, batteries, and renewable technologies expand (IEA, 2023).

    • Artisanal mining cooperatives needing traceability tools.

    • Exporters who require verified compliance for EU/OECD regulation.

    • EV + battery manufacturers needing transparent, fraud-free supply chains.

    • ESG auditors & certification bodies verifying responsible sourcing.

    • The global battery materials market is expected to reach $100B+ by 2030.

    • Companies increasingly require full chain-of-custody verification to meet regulatory and ESG requirements.

    • Works offline-first for low-connectivity mining regions.

    • Provides tamper-proof blockchain tracking, reducing fraud and documentation loss.

    • Offers real-time alerts and community transparency dashboards.

    • Creates shared value for miners, exporters, and global buyers.

Our PATH FORWARD

  • A transparent, tamper-proof mineral traceability platform that protects miners, improves exporter compliance, and reduces risk for global buyers.

    • Subscription model for exporters (monthly SaaS fee).

    • Licensing for EV/battery manufacturers to access verification dashboards.

    • Certification integrations (verification fees for ESG and compliance audits).

    • Analytics insights for supply chain partners.

    • Platform development & cloud infrastructure

    • Field training for mining cooperatives

    • Regional implementation partners

    • Ongoing maintenance & data security

    • Pilot launch with 1–2 mining cooperatives

    • Expand into additional West/Central African mining regions

    • Partner with NGOs, exporters, and EV manufacturers

    • Scale into a global standard for ethical mineral sourcing

  • “Responsible mineral supply chains require transparent information that can be verified at each stage of the value chain.”

    — OECD, 2022

  • “Transparency in mineral supply chains is essential to reducing corruption, ensuring fair compensation, and strengthening community development.”

    — World Bank, 2020

  • “Without traceability and accountability, mineral supply chains cannot be sustainable or socially responsible.”

    — United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), 2019