The OECD - OECD in its Due Diligence Guidance: towards conflict-free mineral supply chains defines traceability as the physical tracking of minerals at all points in the supply chain, from the mine of origin to the point of export. This can include tracking the movement of minerals, metals and other materials throughout the entire production process, including transportation, processing and distribution. It is important to note that traceability can depend on the context and objectives of each mining company or project.

What are the main benefits of traceability?

• Helps improve production reduce downtime and losses: Because traceability provides a better understanding of processes and actions, it can help mining companies optimize their production processes and reduce downtime, which translates into reduced losses.
• It facilitates compliance with regulations, certification and deadlines agreed with customers: Traceability in mining is important because it allows companies and regulators to monitor and control the use of natural resources and ensure that they are extracted and processed responsibly. In addition, traceability in mining can be useful to track problems or errors in the production process and to ensure the quality and safety of final products.
• Boosts consumer confidence: Traceability can help mining companies demonstrate to consumers that their products are responsibly and sustainably produced, which can improve transparency and trust in the company.
• Helps improve product quality: Traceability allows companies to identify and correct quality issues in the production process, which in turn can improve the quality of the final product.

Sustainable mining can be achieved with traceability

Traceability is the first step in promoting sustainable mining by enabling mining companies to track and document their production and distribution process in a transparent and verifiable manner. By doing so, mining companies can demonstrate that they are following responsible and sustainable practices and complying with regulations and social responsibility standards. According to Better Gold Initiative, in its study "Sistema de trazabilidad del oro" it mentions that mining organizations that adopt traceability at an early stage are incentivized to operate their mines more sustainably and responsibly and, over time, will become preferred suppliers as they enable supply chains to work together to protect both people and our planet. Traceability can therefore be an essential part of sustainable and responsible mining.

The future of traceability

The goal of traceability is to establish transparent and reliable supply chains, both from the consumer and producer perspective. Companies must value their suppliers and work responsibly at all stages of the value chain to ensure that their workers are well paid and that water, waste and chemicals are handled responsibly. Traceability enables companies to create more sustainable products, make informed decisions and communicate their sustainability efforts reliably to consumers, which can justify higher prices. Dietrich and Melcher in their research "Mineral Raw Material Supply Chain Transparency and Traceability: Does Provenance Matter in the Supply Chain?" argue that consumers are increasingly interested in knowing where products come from and how they are made, and trust is essential. In addition, the media, employees, investors and regulators are also concerned about the origin of goods and raw materials. Traceability will continue to grow in importance, credibility and cost-effectiveness, and more and more companies will develop their own initiatives or join existing ones as a fundamental part of their supply chain management. However, it is important to ensure privacy protection in traceability certification systems.

Antara Mining Solutions has been developing software solutions for more than 10 years that allow mining companies to make their operations visible and traceable depending on the needs and challenges of each operation.

We are talking about our Antara Suite, composed of platforms such as Antara MP, which efficiently manages the traceability logistics of the mining product (copper cathodes, copper anodes, copper concentrate, molybdenum, among others) since it is produced and stock is recorded until the shipment in port; Antara TL that was created to provide visibility to the logistics and transportation process of critical supplies (sulfuric acid, lime, grinding media, fuels, lubricants, among others), from the source of origin to the mining operations. And finally Antara DGS, software that manages information related to geological samples, analysis results, QA/QC and validation of operational ranges.