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The New Project Is Part of an Agreement Between the North Star Refinery and the Government of Pará and Its Main Goal Is to Guarantee the Legal Marketing of Gold in the State
North Star, the first precious metals refinery in Northern Brazil, which has a modern refining unit built in Belém to serve mining companies operating in the region, issued the first Yellow Seal for certification and traceability of gold produced by Serabi Gold, a mining company with operations in Tapajós, listed on the London and Toronto stock exchanges.
This certification is part of the Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2021 between the North Star refinery, the government of Pará, and gold mining companies operating in the state to ensure responsible production and international standards of gold production, refining, and marketing.
“The major challenge for the country is to ensure ESG standards throughout the gold supply chain, which currently suffers from international distrust due to illicit activities. To meet this challenge, we created the Yellow Seal, which consists of certification and traceability of the gold that arrives at our refinery through blockchain technology, which is a shared and immutable system that facilitates the process of transaction recording and metal tracking,” explains Maurício Gaioti, CEO of North Star.
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Paths to Responsible Gold Production
For Gaioti, CEO of North Star refinery, adopting blockchain technology and combining it with governance and compliance standards together with North Star’s partner mining companies is the way to responsible, verticalized, transparent gold production that is certified with international standards, which can help improve the image of gold produced in Brazil in foreign countries.
The company Omex, which is part of the holding company that leads North Star, has been using blockchain technology in its gold export operations since June this year. “Blockchain is already a reality in our international trade operations. We are pioneers in the use of this technology for trading and now we are bringing this traceability concept along with certification for North Star’s operations with the aim of providing more transparency in the gold production process,” explains Gaioti.
Gold Production Certification
To certify the gold production of mining companies that will refine their production at the Belém unit, North Star refinery hired Minery, a Brazilian startup based in São Paulo that developed Certimine, a blockchain certification that evaluates operational, human, environmental, safety, and integrity conditions.
“The certificate has as parameters both Brazilian and international standards, such as the principles of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. We evaluate more than 70 parameters, including the presence of child labor or analogous to slavery, the use of PPEs, the degree of environmental impact, and relationships with surrounding communities,” declares Eduardo Gama, CEO of Minery.
He also emphasizes that the information collected during the field visit to the mining companies is stored on the blockchain in a digital passport. “The passport gathers information that ensures the traceability of the product to the final customer, and the information contained is tamper-proof.”
About North Star Refino S.A.
Founded in 2017 by OMEX, one of the leaders in gold trading in Brazil, along with international investors, North Star focuses on the responsible refining of gold in Brazil and seeks to establish itself as one of the largest refining industries in the country, making production verticalized and adding value to the national product.
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