🧵 (6/6) Our research recommends:
-Enhanced interoperability and complementarity among traceability initiatives,
-Inclusion of ASM by designing flexible, affordable, and scalable traceability tools,
-State and non-state actor collaboration in enforcement and oversight, and local capacity building

🧵 (5/6) Fundamentally, achieving the European Union’s traceability objectives depends on African states’ supporting broader legal enforcement and implementation capacities. Such initiatives should not be externally imposed but rather undertaken with African governments and regional bodies.

🧵 (4/6) We insist on the risk of marginalisation of small producers due to the capital-intensity of many traceability solutions, emphasizing the socio-economic importance of artisanal mining in sustaining millions of livelihoods in Africa.

🧵 (3/6) Digital ledgers are a tool for traceability, but do not provide a panacea. Data systems are only as credible as the humans that input into them. Trade-offs between certainty, cost, and ease of implementation are inevitable.

🧵 (2/6) Due to the growing regulatory pressure and consumer expectations, traceability is expanding as a means to verify ESG claims in mineral supply chains.