Responsible Gold Coming To A Portfolio Near You - Tradewind
(Kitco News)- Not only is gold in the midst of a digital revolution butthe marketplace will see a significant advancement in transparency.
Fin-tech start up, Tradewind Markets has announced a newaddition to its digital gold and silver exchange, Vaultchain Gold. The platformwill now include a provenance application, which will allow traders andinvestors to see where their gold came from and how it was produced.
Fraser Buchan,co-founder of Tradewind, said in an interview with Kitco News that the supplychain information will now be part of platform’s digital record thanks to theuse of blockchain technology. Not only does the new application addtransparency to the gold market, but it also gives investors confidence thatthey are buying responsibly produced gold.
“There is growingdemand for reliable information about the source of precious metals, and for asolution that allows responsible actors to clearly identify themselves andcapitalize on the value of best practices.” Mr. Buchan said. “Given the fullscope of functionality available on our platform - trade execution, custody,and now provenance - we are uniquely well positioned to help the industrytransition to more efficient, technology driven operating models.”
David Stephens, VPCorporate Development at Goldcorp, agreed with Buchan, saying investors arebecoming a lot more interested in where and how companies are producing gold.He added that the gold market has been “crying out for this type of providencemechanism.”
For example, goldplaced on the digital VaultChain Platform could be identified as coming from aspecific mine, like Goldcorp’s Red Lake Mine in Northern Ontario. In lateMarch, the mining company placed 3,000 ounces of gold on the platform as the “genesis block,” the firstblock in a blockchain.
The mining sectorhas suffered significantly from the perception that it is not environmentallyfriendly; however Stephens said that operations have drastically changed overthe years and companies are paying more attention to environmental issues likewater usage and even community engagement. He added that a lot of companiestake pride in producing gold responsibly.
“A lot of companiesare going very good things but aren’t getting recognized for their efforts,”Stephens said. “This new application changes all that.”
Buchan noted thatEnvironmental and Social Governance (ESG) policies are having a bigger impacton investor choices and in investment portfolios. He added that its time the gold market embraced these ideas.
Stephens added thatwhile the idea of responsible gold is still relatively new for the investmentmarket, it is a growing trend in the jewelry sector as consumers are startingto pay more attention to where their gold comes from.
“We think it’sonly a matter of time before investors embrace the idea of responsible gold,”he said.
Not only are minerscalling for more transparency in the marketplace but refiners are also askingfor this.
“Good corporategovernance now is not just about your providers but now about your providers’providers,” said Stephens.
Grant Angwin,President of Asahi Refining, said that the new technology will help them tocontinue to deliver bestin class service to our customers.
“Information in the Gold supply chain is disorganized, managed acrossdisconnected databases and systems, and is often unreliable,” said GrantAngwin, President of Asahi Refining. “The Tradewind platform helps to solve forthis issue, efficiently tracking the different counterparties who controlphysical metal, and allowing owners to trace the provenance of the metal through the network.”
By Neils ChristensenFor Kitco News
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nchristensen@kitco.comwww.kitco.com Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication. |