Minexx

Connecting miners to the world: Using blockchain to improve the welfare of artisanal miners

While working for an IoT solar energy company, Minexx’s founding team found that one group of potential customers in rural Africa, the miners, were unable to access solar solutions because of unreliable payments and contracts. They found that the very miners who dug up the minerals to make clean energy solutions possible were not able to access those solutions. The unacceptable social cost of technology was clear.

Further investigation showed that this problems exists due to long, untrustworthy supply chains. Technology companies are unable to trust the data in the seven stages from mine to manufacturer and can’t connect with the miners to improve the situation.

Minexx’s MineSmart platform solves this problem using a combination of blockchain, IoT and digital payments to bring trust, fairness and transparency to mineral supply chains. Miners use the MineSmart DApp to get a fair price for their minerals paid directly to their digital wallet and access to safety equipment and lifechanging services such as electricity, insurance and loans from banks. Technology companies use Minexx’s non-fungible responsible mineral certificates to show they support a fair and transparent supply chain while managing the risks of child labour, conflict funding and environmental damage. Minexx successfully piloted their technology in DRC in 2019 and are expanding operations across East and Central Africa.

There comes a time when we must confront the unacceptable social cost of technology. That time is now. Through Minexx we can connect miners to the world and create a fairer future for everyone.