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As we reported before, Ford along with Volkswagen, LG and Volvo are all planning to take a new pilot project tracking cobalt during the refining process which will go live in production next year, the blockchain news show. The project is part of the IBM Mineral Sourcing program that prior to this successfully completed a pilot project to protect against exploitative mining practices.

Named The Responsible Sourcing Blockchain Network (RSBN), this is an international consortium that was built on Hyperledger Fabric. The companies sent 1.5 tons of Congolese cobalt across three different continents in the course of five months, clearing the way for the project to become operational at the start of the spring 2020.

Even though Ford, Volkswagen and LG were part of the IBM Mineral Sourcing program, Volvo joined this Wednesday, according to a new press release.

The auditors behind the solution, RCS Global Group, testified and said that the pilot cobalt met the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and its sourcing standards from the start in a Congolese mine. There was also refinement in South Korea and ultimately a start to its target which is an American Ford Motor Company plant.

LG Chem developed the batteries – and the cobalt components used make up some 10% to 20% of the Lithium ion batteries that carmakers favor. The head of procurement at Volvo, Martina Buchhauser recently talked about the IBM Mineral Sourcing and said that the Swedish carmaker had always put a high priority on the ethical mineral sourcing.

“With blockchain technology we can take the next step in ensuring full traceability of our supply chain and minimizing any related risks, in close collaboration with our suppliers,” she said.

The head of the RCS Global Group said that RSBN is hoping to improve the global ethical supply chains and will build off the lessons learned.

“We’ve reached significant new milestones as we’ve moved beyond testing, proving the merits of this coupled technology and assurance model can extend to a wide range of participants across every tier of the supply chain and to other minerals,” he noted.

The IBM Mineral Sourcing program is one of the most awaited initiatives in the field of blockchain and the industries associated with sourcing minerals.