Mining traceability in a war zone

[IMPACT]

Our proposed solution removes the confusion about the origin of Congolese minerals and elsewhere sold on the international market and it is a solution that values the first operator following the production chain from mining to sale.

Blockchain lends itself well to this solution as it allow small-scale artisanal miners to register at a quarry which will certify their produce.

Alignment with Challenge KPIs

Mineral traceability is a key application for nation building due to the persistent pitfall of the “resource curse” which in Congo, we identify mostly to informality of the trade and the proposal fulfils the Nation-building Challenges as follows:

Proposers commercial approach and negotiation strategy with different Governments

Artisanal and small-scale miners are often neglected in negotiations involving governments due to the individualistic nature of mining. A DApp to repertory small-scale miners will allow the Goma Cardano Hub to promote their certification to government officials.

Participation of Cardano's Local Community Centers

Having hosted the Cardano Summit in Oct 2021, a Wada Hub with weekly meet-ups to learn Haskell and Plutus through project-based learning, the Goma Cardano Hub is a thriving community of Cardano adopters and members regularly attend Town Halls and other digital events. By lending their knowledge to cooperatives and individuals involved in mining activities, which constitute the main economic activity in the area Goma, the Cardano Hub can attract the investments of these businesspeople in other crypto related activities. They can join Cardano by staking to the Goma Cardano Pool.

Participation and/or partnerships with other international organizations

With one of the largest United Nations missions in the world headquartered in Goma, the implementation of a popular blockchain Dapp is likely to raise interest among international organizations seeking efficiencies. 

Local Insight

Smuggling happens when a miner is unregistered and relies on third-parties to sell his/her minerals. Local intermediaries who are registered offer significantly less than those who are based in surrounding countries. By having small-scale miners registered at a quarry, buyers can validate the mineral as their composition can be traced to similar minerals mined at the same quarry.

A miner would be able to sell beyond his quarry while still maintaining both ownership and certification.

Furthermore, the minerals will always be linked to the original miner who can, over time, build his reputation as a producer.

By using blockchain, a small-scale miner would no longer be required to sell at a foreign-based reseller or join a cooperative where the owners offer lower prices.

Risks:

• Integration of certification: Current Certified Trading Chains (CTC) certification scheme is based on large mining holding offering to sell the mineral under their certificate.
• Tracing: Small-scale miners often change quarries due to either insecurity or grade levels being depleted.

Solutions:

• Blockchain-based Certified Trading Chains (CTC) certification schemes are already being implemented in the cofee industry with considerable success as small-farmers are able to combine their holdings to challenge the monopoly of intermediaries.
• Atala-Prism based identification are not centralized and even if small-scale miners move to another quarry, they can still be issued new certifications at the quarry.

[FEASIBILITY]

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is one of Africa’s most richly endowed countries in terms of mineral wealth.

Goma is particularly well-placed to test the use of technology on solving mining identification problems as it is surrounded by the most productive mines of coltan, gold and cassiterite.

Roadmap

• Apr-Jun22: Design website to map Masisi mining quarries for Coltan (columbite–tantalites) that are easily accessible from Goma. They produce the vast majority of the tantalites sold by the DRC.
• May-Jul22: Create Issuing Certificates that quarry operators will use to sign claims of products by small-scale miners. The claims are the actual DIDs which each produce will own, certifying information about the product (quantity, grade level and other details about tantalites).
• May-Jul22: Design QR codes for sealing containers holding minerals at storage and transit facilities.
• Jul22-Jan23: On-board small-scale miners. Wallets holding DIDs are being developped for the Atala-Prism DID standard.
• Aug22-onwards: Publish all Issuing DIDs (Quarries) and Claimers (DIDs) by linking them to produced Coltan quantities in DRC.
• Aug22: Offer validation tools on the website to certify the validity of a DIDs based on its identification format.

Milestones

• Mapping all quarries producing tantalites in Masisi.
• Create and Offer Atala-Prism DID issuing keys for quarry operators.
• Small-scale miners are issued wallets on which they can receive DIDs signed by the quary operators.
• Small-scale miners are able to sell their claims and transfer ownership.
• DApp generates fees for the transfer of ownership of the DID.

The production of the decentralized application to trace and certify quarries and mineral will entail the following.

Design Validation Website $9000

• Wallet-connectivity functionality
• Mapping functionality
• Validation functionality

Catalogue quarries $4000

• Road trips for three validators
• Create awareness among quary operators
• Create Issuing keys for participating quarries and train operators on the signing process

Onboard Miners: $7000

• Identify Cardano wallets supporting DIDs.
• Create awareness among small-miners on the benefits of using blockchain in mining tracing.
• Support wallet acquisition by miners through on-boarding process or quarry operator ledger.

Tools and Equipements:

• 3 Portable projectors with solar panels for remote presentations: $4500
• Scanner, printers and label printers for QR Code tags: $500

Akilimali Cizungu Innocent: Proposal lead, hi is the technical analyst within ISDR/GL (www.isdrgl.org) and holds a degree in computer science from ISIG (https://www.isig.ac.cd/). Akilimali is also the technician supporting the Cardano Stake Pool. Akilimali has experience in front-end and back-end developments.

https://www.linkedin.com/mwlite/in/akili-innocent-7649951a8

https://github.com/Innocent-Akim

Bandu Balume Boaz: Graduating student at ISDR/GL, Boaz is the Hub manager who coordinates meetups for Haskell and Plutus learning. Boaz has completed several training modules on Cardano and is aiming to develop blockchain applications in the field of sustainable development.

Jean-Claude Magugu: Technical analyst with experience in the affiliation of small-scale miners among producers' cooperatives in the region of Masisi neighboring Goma. Magugu has gathered pertinent information about small-scale miners who would be on-boarded.

Paul Mupenda: Graduating student at ISIG, Paul holds an undergraduate degree in Computer Science. An avid blockchain learner and promising blockchain developer, Paul has completed several Haskell and Plutus learning modules. Paul’s technical blockchain skills include the ability to create and issue Atala-Prism DIDs

https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-mupenda

https://github.com/paulmupenda

Frédéric Samvura:Wada Business Initiatives Lead, DRC Wada Coordinator. M.A in Economics, experienced in banking and public policy. Completed the Plutus Pioneer and Atala Prism Pioneer Programs. Haskell and Plutus trainer in Wada and Guimbalabs Education programs, Smart Contract Developer and entrepreneur.

Telegram: @fsamvura Email: fsamvura@wada.org LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fr%C3%A9d%C3%A9ric-samvura-907aa53b/?originalSubdomain=ca

[AUDITABILITY]

• Upon funding, a video highlighting targetted quarries in the region will be produced.
• Regular YouTube Video Updates
• GitHub repositoty DID design for industries relying on Certified Trading Chains (CTC) certification schemas.
• Update through Catalyst meetings and site for progress
• Website with mapped quarries and affiliated DIDs (individuals' certificates).

Success for this project will consists in:

• Introducing of Cardano-based Certified Trading Chains (CTC) certification scheme for responsible artisanal and small-scale mining in the DRC
• Supporting mine validation and inspection missions in order to facilitate market access for “conflict minerals” produced in line with due diligence requirements
• Mapping certified mines and quarries.
• Developing and piloting technical methods to improve control and sustainability in the mining sector in DRC through blockchain
• On-boarding artisanal and small-scale miners through the DApp
• Generate fees through DID validation and resale.

New Proposal

SDG Rating

Uncontrolled mining in the DRC causes soil erosion and pollutes lakes and rivers, affecting the hydrology and ecology of the region.

The eastern mountain gorilla's population has diminished as well. Miners, far from food sources and often hungry, hunt gorillas.

Mountain Gorillas in the Great Lakes region numbered only 700, UNEP said in 2009.

By offering certification to affiliated quarries, small-scale miners may gather around certified quarries instead of looking for minerals in protected areas.