By Just last month CoinBeat reported on the fact the Rwandan government was to pilot a blockchain platform in order to track conflict metals. Also reported in this article was the fact that African mining giant De Beers was set to launch their own blockchain trial in order to track diamonds along the supply chain from mine to retailer.
Just yesterday, Alrosa, the world’s second-biggest diamond manufacturer announced that they’re joining forces with Tracr, a blockchain-based end-to-end diamond tracing system which was developed by the De Beers Group with a sole purpose of ensuring that conflict diamonds never end up on their supply chain.
Tracr: Taking The World By Storm:
Back in May, it was reported that Signet Jewellers who are the world’s largest diamond retailer, joined Tracr as part of the global movement in ensuring that blood diamonds, which are products of slave labour in African war zones are not sold to consumers. These diamonds are usually sold in order to fund wars & armed guerillas & terrorists in nations such as Sierra Leone, The DRC and Angola.
Following months of bated breath, Tracr was finally tested and demonstrated it’s capabilities by successfully tracking a set of diamonds by De Beers. Under the guidance of the Tracr network, every diamond receives a unique identity code right after it is mined. The code holds vital information about each stones weight, clarity, colour and this data is then stored on a blockchain whereby all Tracr participants have access to it.
Many notable names in the diamond industry have already committed Tracr due to the fact the precious gems industry has seen the power that Tracr holds as a solution to many supply chain challenges including trust, traceability, privacy and lastly, compliance.
As such, consumers have peace of mind when they purchase diamonds from these organisations as they have the assurance that their diamonds have gone through the proper levels of compliance & certification from the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, the World Diamond Council System of Warranties and lastly the Responsible Jewellery Council Code of Practices.
The importance of blockchain technology is evident with Alrosa’s decision to sign up with Tracr, as now, the worlds two largest diamond manufacturers in two of the world’s largest diamond production zones, this being South Africa and Russia, can now work together in the development & improvement of the blockchain platform.
CEO of Alrosa, Sergey Ivanov had this to say on the partnership:
“Traceability is the key to further development of our market. It helps to ensure consumer confidence and fill information gaps, enabling people to enjoy the product without any doubts about ethical issues or undisclosed synthetics. Alrosa is glad to participate in testing Tracr, along with other market solutions. We believe tracing requires industry cooperation and complementation for the sake of a common goal.”
De Beers CEO, Bruce Cleaver was ecstatic about Alrosa’s decision to sign up with Tracr, going on to state that the future collaborative efforts we can expect from the world’s largest diamond manufacturers will bring about “significant benefits for consumers and diamond industry participants.”.
Could the introduction of Tracr mark the end of an era in conflict diamonds? Let us know your thoughts.
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