Glencore will leverage the RSBN blockchain network to trace cobalt moving from one place to another. Glencore plans to get a full-time membership for RSBN by February 2020.
By Bhushan Akolkar
Updated
2 mins read
Glencore PLC, one of the world’s largest cobalt producers and a public traded company announced its plan to join the Responsible Sourcing Blockchain Network (RSBN). Glencore will use the Hyperledger Fabric Platform for Cobalt production to track its cobalt production.
RSBN is particularly an industrial collaboration using blockchain technology that supports “responsible sourcing and production practices from mine to market”. Moreover, the members of the network include companies from the auto, refiners and mining industry.
“RSBN is designed to be adopted across industries by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in automotive, electronics, aerospace and defense as well as their supply chain partners such as mining companies and battery manufacturers,” noted the press release.
Starting on the proof-of-concept model, RSBN has now evolved further and ready to begin commercial operations by spring 2020. The latest announcement from Glencore is part of the company’s plan of using blockchain in its supply chain. Furthermore, in October 2019, Glencore partnered with six other mining stakeholders and agreed to “design and deploy blockchain solutions” in concurrence with the World Economic Forum.
Glencore has said that it will become RSBN’s full-time consortium member by the end of February 2020. This membership will allow the cobalt producer to create good practices with its supply chain partners and deliver improved supply chain transparency and traceability. Nico Paraskevas, Glencore Head of Marketing for Copper and Cobalt commented:
“RSBN plays a key role in advancing the sustainable partnership between the producers of commodities that will enable the transition to a low-carbon economy and key consumers around the world. We look forward to working with the network to further embed responsible sourcing good practice across the mineral supply chain.”
The member groups of the RSBN consortium have currently put their focus on cobalt which will be the platform’s first test mineral. Cobalt is one of the major components in the Lithium-Ion battery’s used in cars. Such batteries are used on a massive scale by some of the leading automobile giants like Volkswagen, Volvo, and Ford.
During the pilot test, the RSBN network helped to trace the 1.5 ton batch of cobalt from Congolese mines to a Ford Motor Company plant in Mexico. RSBN members said that the system will go on a large scale commercial launch by the next year.
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Bhushan is a FinTech enthusiast and holds a good flair in understanding financial markets. His interest in economics and finance draw his attention towards the new emerging Blockchain Technology and Cryptocurrency markets. He is continuously in a learning process and keeps himself motivated by sharing his acquired knowledge. In free time he reads thriller fictions novels and sometimes explore his culinary skills.
