Gold miner Iamgold has joined fellow gold miner Yamana Gold and other partners, including Sprott and Valcambi, in investing in technology company Emergent Technology Holdings (EmTech), which uses blockchain technology to track the provenance of responsibly sourced gold.
EmTech's Responsible Gold supply chain application automates the tracking of responsibly sourced gold from origin to vault. This gold is digitised into G-Coin tokens, which are digital certificates of title to responsibly sourced gold. G-Coin tokens can be bought as investments, moved to transfer wealth or make payments, and are redeemable for physical gold.
"We are thrilled to be an early investor in Emergent Technology," said Iamgold CEO Steve Letwin.
"Innovation is a key aspect of the industry's modernised operating model, and as miners we must begin thinking more strategically to stay sustainable and profitable in the future. By placing us at the forefront of an exciting new blockchain-based ecosystem, this investment will allow Iamgold to unlock new value by revolutionising provenance and efficiency and providing greater transparency in the supply chain.”
EmTech MD Matthew Keen said investors and fabricators were increasingly demanding ethically sourced gold from miners and refiners.
“Our proprietary blockchain technology supports their efforts by providing an immutable and irrefutable record of provenance and chain of custody. For the first time, ethically minded investors can trade G-Coin tokens to access gold's classic portfolio diversification attributes."
EmTech's Responsible Gold supply chain application is operational and available for licensing. G-Coin tokens will be available for purchase later this year.