The Democratisation of the Mining and Exploration Industry
How can technology aid in democratisation?
With the increase in automation and optimisation through an increasingly sophisticated artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, the fourth industrial revolution will be dominated by the search for technological efficiency.
As mentioned previously, the emergence of new technologies such as AI, Internet of Things (IoT) and blockchain as well as radically new engineering processes will have the potential to improve global wellbeing and push towards industrial transparency and sustainable practices.
They also have the potential to give people high returns that were previously only available to the select few.
This activity left unchecked will further lead us towards the cascading collapse of the global ecosystem as the remaining natural resources are expunged at an exponential rate.
We are at a fork in the road in our technological evolution. One road, our current path, leads to our ultimate destruction, as increasingly monolithic organisations take control of our industrial, technological and financial systems.
The other, will be led by an increasingly powerful majority, ‘the crowd’, that care about the maintenance and eventual recovery of our only habitat, the planet Earth.
“GeoBlocks aims to build a suite of technologies that takes one of the most polluting, centralised industries on the planet; the mining industry, and aims to demonstrate that this other path is not only possible, but it is profitable. Minerals, metals and rare earth materials, will only become more important as this new era of radical digitally infused industrialisation plays out. It is critical that these vital materials are found, validated and sourced in a way that leads to a ‘Net Good’ impact on the world. This is the important step in leading the fourth industrial revolution down a path that leads away from a devastating conclusion for our civilisation.”
How will Blockchain Technology democratise the mining industry?
Decentralisation was a key factor in the creation of Bitcoin. The message is simple: create a peer-to-peer network that demands no central authority and as a result give freedom to the people while reducing costs and increasing privacy.
The underlying technology: “Blockchain” is a cryptographic layer that links data which cannot be manipulated by any party on the network without profound cost. This results in a fully transparent ledger that is the root of trust, and is available publicly with the only requirement being an internet connection.
Since then, radically new and innovative business models have emerged with the potential to build open and participatory technological data structures that lead to efficiency, transparency and trust.
This technology helps to create dynamic ecosystems to fundamentally shift control away from a small number of people and open it up to anyone who chooses to participate in the network. This is profoundly a democratising activity.
GeoBlocks is part of a new wave of business that will allow people the option for global participation to help steer processes that have had devastating impacts on the ecosystem. Through transparency and traceability, we will be able to consume and use products that do not negatively impact the environment.
“‘This will be led by radically open, transparent methodologies for leading our industry and will build sustainable supply chains at the very source. Users will be able to shape and influence these business by contributing financially and participating in their governance. Importantly, this will be proven to be a financially and commercially viable activity. The democratisation of our industry will begin at the source and will be enabled by blockchain technology. “
After 10 years of consolidation, the mining industry is ready for transformative change. In our next article we will examine the current state of the mining industry, it’s expansion and current practices and how GeoBlocks will lead in its digital transformation.
