Mineral Traceability

Illegal mining and precious metals trafficking constitute a multi-billion-dollar industry with significant negative ecological and societal impacts, including the use of forced labor, the destruction of the environment, and the empowerment of certain armed and criminal groups. Given the lack of transparency and traceability efforts, illicitly extracted minerals can easily be laundered into legal mineral supply chains. The complex nature of these supply chains, as well as the importance of certain minerals to national governments’ strategic objectives, mean that counter-illegal mining regulations are often lacking or completely nonexistent.

C4ADS illustrates how publicly available information can be used to substantially improve transparency, traceability, and accountability in the minerals industry. We aggregate concession, ownership, and trade data to map global supply chains and support more effective regulations, as well as enhanced industry due diligence practices. In doing so, we aim to counteract illegal mining activity by preventing illegally mined metals from entering global chains.