Norilsk Nickel, a Russia-based metals company, has announced it backs IBM’s Responsible Sourcing Blockchain Network (RSBN), which supports responsible sourcing and production in mining.

The Russian nickel and palladium mining company said it would use RSBN to share data with selected members and keep a supply chain record of mineral production.The agreement would include the creation of metal-backed tokens on the global Atomyze platform that represents physical assets in digital form.The RSBN and Atomyze platforms have been built on IBM blockchain technology and powered by the Linux Foundation's Hyperledger Fabric.By joining the RSBN, Nornickel has agreed to have its supply chains audited annually against key responsible-sourcing requirements by RCS Global."We believe that the digital technologies of RSBN and Atomyze will create the path for Nornickel and its partners to participate in a circular value chain, tracing commodity flows in near real-time as well as replacing cumbersome paperwork," said Anton Berlin, Nornickel's vice president of sales and distribution.In December 2019, one of the largest cobalt producers, Glencore PLC, joined the RSBN, announcing it would use RSBN’s Hyperledger Fabric platform for its cobalt production and become a full consortium member.