Responsible sourcing opportunities
Existing approaches to responsible sourcing
To date, the majority of sourcing solutions targeting improvements in the performance of small-scale mines have relied on the full physical integration of material into complex global value chains.
The transaction costs of such integration can often outweigh the additional economic benefits experienced by mines sites themselves; while complicated auditing and other due diligence requirements imposed on midstream partners (e.g. refiners and manufacturers) has limited the scalability of ‘responsible sourcing’ solutions for the majority of mineral commodities.
Unlocking the power of downstream demand for responsible minerals
We believe that modern supply chains require modern sourcing approaches; which carefully accomodate the needs of partner mines and downstream businesses. Our Responsible Minerals Credits scheme is fit for digital age, driving upstream impact in three simple steps:
Assured mineral supply
Partner mines commit to the regular provision of ESG data; with their performance benchmarked against international industry standards. Mining output is tracked and logged onto our digital ledger, with all mineral sales flowing into OECD approved traders.Conversion of minerals into credits
Each kilogram of mineral produced responsibly generates a corresponding Responsible Mineral Credit, available for downstream companies to purchase, in line with group sourcing commitments.Using credit sales to drive impact
The sale of a Responsible Mineral Credit generates a fee which is reinvested into activities to sustain responsible mining activities; with impact data flowing back to participating downstream businesses.Through this virtuous cycle, our Responsible Mineral Credit scheme enables downstream businesses to see the real-world impact of their responsible sourcing commitments with upstream small-scale mines, without disrupting the optimisation of their current supply chains or introducing the transaction and financial costs implicated through full-physical mineral integration.
At the other end of the supply chain, partner mines are presented with a clear incentive to maintain responsible mining techniques and advance both their ESG and economic performance over time.
