Anglo American announces the launch of Valutrax™, a proprietary digital traceability solution designed to provide customers with greater assurance about the provenance of the products they purchase. Valutrax™ offers a single point of access to core information about such products, helping to trace metals and minerals from source to customer through a tailored selection of key provenance and sustainability indicators.
Paul Ward, Executive Head of Base Metals Marketing for Anglo American, said: “The metals and minerals we provide are essential to the global energy transition and improving living standards for a growing and urbanising population – these are future-enabling products. We know that in their purchasing decisions, our customers value Anglo American’s longstanding reputation as a leader in sustainable mining, led by our commitment to responsible business practices.
“Valutrax™ has been designed as a platform to drive greater transparency across our entire production and logistics chain. It aims to give our customers direct access to indicators that can help determine compliance with requirements in their specific industries or jurisdictions and to then make appropriate decisions to support their sustainability strategies and other value drivers.”
Valutrax™ is built on blockchain technology, a distributed database that allows for information to be securely stored in a digital format, and gives participating customers access to a comprehensive, immutable view of a product’s core information via a user-friendly portal.
A digital label can be downloaded for each delivery, offering an at-a-glance view of key data – from provenance and carbon emissions intensity to safety and the social impact of our operations, along with an overview of the policies that underpin Anglo American’s approach to driving safe and sustainable operations.
Anglo American’s digital traceability journey began in 2018, with De Beers’ investment in TracrTM, the world’s first fully distributed diamond traceability platform with the ability to explore the provenance and authenticity of a diamond.
A pilot version of Valutrax™ was rolled out to a selection of Anglo American’s customers in late 2022. The feedback and input gathered during this phase has informed ongoing development. Valutrax™ is currently available to customers purchasing ferronickel, copper concentrates and iron ore mined products, with plans under way to integrate other products in the future.