U.S.-based blockchain startup ConsenSys has announced a joint venture with Open Mineral, a Switzerland-based online metal concentrates exchange, to establish a blockchain consortium of mining companies and financial institutions.

Called “Minerac,” the Ethereum project will work towards changing the way mineral commodities trading and connected supply chains operate.

By using smart contracts, Minerac will allow stakeholders to securely exchange critical trade documents, such as bills of lading and letters of credit. It will also enhance the broader value chain by increasing compliance, transparency and ease of auditability. This would be achieved via “Minerac ledger”, which will be shared among all involved parties and ensure that the data is up-to-date, eliminating the potential for bad actors benefit from loose record keeping.

The project is also creating processes to address the key sustainability and security issues in the existing systems. It would involve stamping sealed bags or containers with a unique, tamper-proof, identifying ID that will be logged on the Minerac ecosystem. The ID, continually updated with location details and movements, will help ensure that the commodity being purchased is from compliant and conflict-free regions.

According to the official release, Minerac will develop its own enterprise platform based on the industry standards established by the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (EEA). It will also integrate ConsenSys' cloud-based TMS logistics platform, a customizable solution designed to support the commodities logistics space by reducing the amount of data entry points and reconciliations during the supply chain process.

"We look forward to collaborating with Open Mineral to build blockchain solutions for mining and mineral supply chains. Minerac will offer a solution where all parties involved in the supply chain will benefit from digitization, secure data collection, the seamless exchange of data and immutability of their records, made possible by the Ethereum platform,” Joseph Lubin, co-Founder of Ethereum and founder of ConsenSys said.

The project will be incubated out of ConsenSys Energy and Natural Resources group, in partnership with Open Mineral.