Build a Mineral Traceability System That Prevents Conflict Mineral Flows from Nigeria

European and US legislation (EU Conflict Minerals Regulation, Dodd-Frank Section 1502) requires companies to verify that minerals in their supply chains are not financing conflict. Nigeria exports tantalum, gold, and other minerals that flow into this regulatory environment through trading chains with no documentation. Nigerian exports are therefore treated as high-risk regardless of actual origin, depressing prices that legitimate miners receive and creating perverse incentives for regulatory avoidance. Your challenge is to design a mineral traceability system for one mineral exported from Nigeria (gold, tantalum/coltan, or cassiterite) from artisanal mine to export point. The system must create a chain of custody that satisfies EU and US due diligence standards, be implementable with existing mobile technology and without new government IT investment, and give traceable minerals a documented premium over non-traceable ones. Submit a system design document (max 12 pages) including: the chain of custody methodology, the technology for each stage, how the system integrates with existing export documentation, the due diligence standard alignment, the commercial model showing premium for traceable minerals, and a plan to trace 100 tonnes of your chosen mineral in the first year. Judging criteria: 40% chain of custody credibility and standards compliance, 30% technology design at mine and trading levels, 20% commercial premium design, 10% pilot scale plan.