How Digital Transformation Can Evolve the Gold Mining Industry: Insights from aXedras and Concept Partners
Updated: Mar 19
aXedras, the World Gold Council (WGC) and some of its members have partnered throughout 2023 for the Digital Transformation for Mines (DTM) Project. Additionally, the concept of Core Provenance Data has emerged and has been finalized in Q4/2023.
Executive Summary
Five members of the WGC have opted in as concept partners for the DTM Project with aXedras.
The initial focus of the DTM Project was on:
Digital shipment processes
Automated document and report generation
ESG reporting framework
Thanks to the input and efforts of the concept partners, aXedras has created a comprehensive design on how to evolve its solution, aXProvenance, for the benefit of the producers
The quality and quantity of feedback received were substantial and positive
aXedras and the concept partners ranked and prioritized the development of a roadmap for new features
The concept of Core Data began to take shape and was finalized on in Q4 / 2024
Six new features, including Core Data, are being developed in the first half of the year 2024
Next: The focus is on onboarding producers – to capture core data – and their refining partners onto the aXedras’ Gold Bar Integrity platform in 2024
More insights to DTM Project
Insightful sessions were held with concept partners, including:
Ten status quo sessions, to understand the current process flows and intended future flows,
and approximately 30 verification and validation sessions, to challenge and discuss the high-fidelity prototypes;
The consultations also included two representatives and three GDL refiners
Different IT-related starting conditions within mining industry given
needs around digitalization of the Doré Sales Process are different
status of digitized Doré Sales Process is diverse
aXedras focuses in a first step on transparency & integrity as postulated by WGC, which is a clearly defined and existing industry-wide need (cf., World Gold Council members commit to enhanced supply-chain transparency (axedras.com))
Therefore, aXedras concludes
By joining aXedras' GBI platform, the producers can meet the postulated transparency & integrity requirements (core data)
By delivering six new features to its product suite (aXProvenance 2.0), aXedras directly contributes to transparency & integrity
The adjusted respectively finetuned six new features are as follows:
Add additional data fields to Provenance Record (Core Data + Basic Reporting) Scope: Completion of core provenance data on Provenance Record and link to shipment process
Reflect global corporate structures of mining organizations Scope: Introduction of a configurable and manageable global corporate profile
Role based access controls for mining organizations Scope: Differentiation between different user types reflecting different duties and responsibilities within the company.
Add bar-based components to Provenance Record Scope: Provenance Records can also represent single doré bars, each of which has non-uniform properties such as bar no., pour no., declared weight and fineness.
Simultaneous exchange of assay results between producers and refiners Scope: Synchronized exchange/revelation of all assay results between producer, representative and refiner, automated calculation of proposed settlement amounts.
Implementation of new role "representative" Scope: Involvement of 3rd party that represents the producer on the site of the refiner. Representative can be notified and scheduled in advance, can report back to producer by means of an Inspection Reports incl. assay based on samples received by refiner.
Future: As soon as the core data basis has fully been established, further digitization efforts will be pursued individually with WGC members as require
