Integra and Minespider partner to trace responsibly-sourced gold from Peru

Integra is committed to ethical and transparent sourcing and their goal is to use Minespider’s technology to track responsible gold, reduce their environmental footprint, and promote sustainable development. The implementation will start with Paltarumi SAC, a Peruvian gold processing plant, dedicated to the collection and processing of gold from government-permitted artisanal and small scale mining. Integra serves as Paltarumi’s strategic advisor for future growth plans. Utilising Integra’s deep artisanal and small scale gold mining (ASGM) knowledge and insights, together with Minespider, the group will co-develop additional analytical tools that aim to reduce the barriers to traceability for other ASGM operations.

As a first step, Minespider and Integra will work together to implement Minespider’s blockchain traceability platform at every point in Paltarumi’s supply chain. Paltarumi sources gold ore from government-permitted ASGM operations, and part of the cooperation will be targeted at introducing responsible sourcing standards to the mining operations, establishing Paltarumi as a benchmark for responsible gold. With Paltarumi’s input, Minespider will also incorporate additional live data analytics tools to their current offering, enabling users to both vet responsible provenance of ore and gain insight into relevant production data.

Minespider Founder and CEO, Nathan Williams, stated:

“The cooperation with Integra will be the harbinger of new standards across the region. With numerous assets in the portfolio and a dedicated leadership who understands the increasing importance of responsible sourcing, this has the potential to transform the sector in a part of the world that has a long history in mining and a strong desire to protect its rich natural heritage.”

Integra’s CEO Alvaro Baltodano, stated:

“Artisanal miners and the jewelry industry represent two extremes of the precious metals value chain. They depend on each other but don’t know one another. To help the artisanal mining sector transform, we need to educate the public and people in the industry to explain what is at stake and how we can support their formalisation. The added benefit is tax revenue, which improves much-needed infrastructure and quality of life in the mining communities.

“Our strategic partnership with Minespider is based on shared values. We are united by an unwillingness to accept the world’s standards of ‘just good enough', as well as the aim of scaling an ASGM traceability project. We believe collaboration is the best way to advance innovative ideas, but we need those ideas to foster social progress, and create a sustainable impact.”

Paltarumi’s CEO, Jimmy Pflu¨ckner, stated:

“This alliance is the beginning of a revolution for the Peruvian gold industry and the rest of Latin America. By becoming the standard of excellence for responsible gold in the country, Paltarumi will lead the way into the future of the sustainable gold business.”

Minespider is a blockchain-based traceability platform empowering companies to create, capture, and communicate sustainability efforts along their supply chains. Its upstream clients, including Minsur and LuNa Smelter, create blockchain-secured digital IDs called digital Product Passports to track their material shipments downstream. These passports contain information such as provenance data, due diligence documents and carbon emissions data, and are a way of differentiating and adding value to commodities.

Integra’s investment expertise is in mining, agribusiness, and renewable energy projects. Across these industries, it focuses on the optimisation of geographical resources, technology, and capital with the goal of maximising financial and social returns. This project is the first part of Integra’s wider strategy to provide access to transformative and innovative solutions that promote and ensure the production of responsibly-mined ore for gold operations across Latin America. Integra aims at creating a positive impact for all parties involved, including its clients, partners, and the communities where it operates.

Paltarumi is a gold processing plant sourcing exclusively from government-permitted artisanal and small scale mining. The company implements state-of-the-art industrial technologies that ensure profitability, maximise resources, provide occupational and industrial health and safety, preserve the environment, and promote the sustainable development of communities.

Read the article online at: https://www.globalminingreview.com/mining/14032022/integra-and-minespider-partner-to-trace-responsibly-sourced-gold-from-peru/