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Our standards are worth most when they travel. A mine that can prove where its material comes from, how its people are treated and what it pays to the state is worth more to its owners, its neighbours and its buyers than one that cannot. The Supply Chain Transformation Program (SCTP) is how we bring other mining companies inside a supply chain that can prove what it claims.

The Supply Chain Transformation Program

Through SCTP we partner with third-party mining companies and embed our own standards in their operations. Partners do not buy into a scheme or subscribe to a platform. They adopt the same systems, the same due diligence and the same care for people that we apply at our own sites, and their material then travels with the same evidence as ours.

Who it is for

  • Licensed mining companies, small and medium-scale, seeking to transition to industrial scale and wanting a route to buyers and investors who demand evidence-based upstream ethics and stewardship.
  • Holders of deposits they do not plan to develop themselves, who want an operator that will run them to a verifiable standard.
  • Governments working to industrialise artisanal and small-scale mining, and to bring that value-addition into a supply chain the world's manufacturers can buy from.

The pillars of SCTP

SCTP works across six pillars. Each partner's operation is first studied in all six, a plan is then agreed with its leadership, and the plan is put into practice with our support. The aim is not to run the mine for them, but to give its leadership the skills to run it to this standard themselves.

Safety

Supply Chain Transformation Program · Pillar 01

Making every site safer, with the goal of eliminating all accidents and safety incidents.

  • Hazard identification and risk assessment across every area of the operation.
  • The right personal protective equipment for every worker.
  • Emergency response plans for evacuation, medical emergencies, fire and natural disasters, kept up to date.
  • Safety training for employees, contractors and visitors.
  • Safe operation, inspection and maintenance of machinery, vehicles and equipment.
  • Fall protection, fire prevention and suppression, ventilation and air-quality monitoring, and noise and vibration control.
  • Access to occupational health services and regular health checks.
  • Reporting and investigation of incidents and near-misses, to find and fix root causes.
  • Regular safety audits and inspections, and compliance with local, national and international regulation.
  • A safety culture led from the top.

Environmental

Supply Chain Transformation Program · Pillar 02

Understanding and reducing each site's impact on land, water and air, and planning for rehabilitation from the start.

  • An environmental impact assessment of existing and potential impacts.
  • Air quality: dust, particulates and greenhouse gases.
  • Water: effects on the quality and availability of surface and groundwater, and a water management plan.
  • Soil and land: erosion, compaction and contamination, and how the land will be rehabilitated.
  • Biodiversity: effects on local plants, animals and habitats, with plans for restoration.
  • Noise and vibration: effects on nearby communities and wildlife.
  • Waste: safe handling, storage and disposal of tailings, waste rock and hazardous substances.
  • Energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy.
  • Adaptation to climate change and extreme weather.
  • Environmental monitoring and reporting, regulatory compliance, and closure and post-closure planning.

Community

Supply Chain Transformation Program · Pillar 03

Making sure the communities around a mine share in its benefits and have a say in the decisions that affect them.

  • Stakeholder engagement: communities, government and other stakeholders involved in decisions.
  • Social impacts, including land acquisition, cultural heritage and socio-economic change.
  • Infrastructure and services: planning for the pressure a mine puts on transport, housing, healthcare and education.
  • Economic impact: local employment, a more diverse local economy and a fair share of the benefits.
  • Cultural impact: protecting traditional livelihoods, especially farming, and community cohesion.

Resource management

Supply Chain Transformation Program · Pillar 04

Turning a partner's geology into a reliable resource estimate and an economically optimised mine plan.

  • Exploration planning: objectives, target areas and budgets.
  • Geological mapping, remote sensing, geochemical sampling and geophysical surveys.
  • Drilling, core logging and laboratory assays.
  • Digitising historical production records to improve underground mapping.
  • Integrating all the data into a geological model.
  • Resource estimation: tonnage, grade and classification.
  • A 3D model of the deposit and an economically optimised mine plan.

Process engineering

Supply Chain Transformation Program · Pillar 05

Raising recovery, with the aim of exceeding 75 per cent, so that more of every tonne mined becomes saleable product.

  • A baseline recovery analysis that puts a value on every improvement.
  • Particle size, crushing and grinding tests to establish liberation and energy needs.
  • Gravity and magnetic separation test work to optimise recovery.
  • Filtration and dewatering tests to manage water and lift recovery.
  • Chemical and mineralogical analysis, including XRF, ICP, XRD and SEM.
  • Reprocessing historical tailings, combining new revenue with rehabilitation.
  • Pre-concentration plants that produce a concentrate for onward sale and processing in our operations.

Management systems

Supply Chain Transformation Program · Pillar 06

Giving partners the systems a bankable business needs, from safety and quality to finance, people and traceability.

  • Health and safety, quality, risk and asset management.
  • Stakeholder engagement and community relations.
  • Supply chain, financial and human resources management.
  • Information technology and data management.
  • Crisis and emergency management.
  • Traceability through Original Evidence, removing the partner's costs of traceability and due diligence.

What partners gain

  • A bankable buyer. Our refinery has capacity set aside for traced third-party feed, giving partners a steady outlet for their material instead of the spot-market trading that small critical-minerals mines have traditionally relied on. A mine with a reliable, creditworthy buyer can open routes to growth capital that would otherwise be out of reach.
  • The systems. Proven practices, established workflows and good governance can be put in place quickly, instead of developing slowly over years. They add to the value of the mine for its owners and free up the capacity to pursue mechanisation and value addition sooner.
  • Our expertise. Knowledge transfer through site visits, regular meetings and shared, documented processes, with technical support such as process test work, laboratory analysis and IT, and a dedicated coordinator for each partner.
  • Access to investment capital. A partner that meets the programme's objectives has what a lender looks for, and the leadership skills to deliver an industrial expansion. Where it makes sense, Power Elements may also provide a cornerstone investment, reducing the specialist risk that keeps other investors away and signalling to third-party funds a sound opportunity with a bankable partner.

How it works

  1. Register. The partner registers through the Gateway, completes our know-your-counterpart checks and receives a screening visit.
  2. Study. We assess the existing operation and build a baseline for each of the six pillars.
  3. Plan. Together with the partner's leadership, we turn that baseline into a business and transformation plan.
  4. Implement. The partner puts the plan into practice with our support, every lot is recorded in Original Evidence, and progress is reassessed periodically.
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