A Critical Investigation into Identifying Key Focus Areas for the Implementation of Blockchain Technology in the Mining Industry

Abstract

The value of digital information is ever-increasing as more companies utilize digital technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT) to gain deeper insight into their business operations and drive productivity gains. It is therefore important to safeguard and ensure the integrity of digital information exchange. Blockchain technology (BCT) was identified as potentially providing the mining industry with a trusted system for securely exchanging digital value. However, there is little evidence or understanding of how/where BCT can be implemented and what benefits the industry could obtain. This research study provides a fundamental understanding of what the technology is in order to identify the associated capabilities and potential application benefits for the mining industry. From a technology push perspective, blockchain capabilities are used to evaluate how the technology’s value drivers map to the mining industries core value chain processes. This was done to identify potential focus areas within the mining enterprise for further research and development of blockchain applications.