Minespider's OreSource, a blockchain-based due diligence tool for mines and smelters, will be used by LuNa to ensure its products comply with the European Union Conflict Mineral Regulation coming into force in January 2021.

"The industry is still unsure about how to comply with the EU Conflict Minerals Regulation. OreSource will give us a tool to provide the information that is required, and help European importers collect the required data," said Olena Wiaderna, director of sustainability and supply chain due diligence at LuNa Smelter.

OreSource works by tracking the data uploaded by smelters into a digital blockchain certificate. By affixing a simple QR code to a mineral shipment, or to an invoice, the recipients of the materials receive all the data they need to ensure their compliance with the EU regulation, secured on Minespider's public blockchain protocol.

The Rwandan Mines, Petroleum, and Gas Board (RMB) said it sees the project as an important step in improving the mining industry's transparency.

"This comes as a confirmation to what we have always known: Rwanda is a conflict-free source of minerals, and by LuNa Smelter pioneering blockchain in minerals tracking in Rwanda, we're taking another big step forward for the Rwandan mining sector," said Francis Gatare, RMB chief executive.

LuNa, which produces tin ingots and other minerals recovered from the refining process, such as tantalum concentrate, partially procures ore from LuNa's own operational sites, as well as third-parties which are compliant with LuNa's strict internal environmental and social standards.