‘Blood Minerals’ in the Supply Chain

(Supply Demand Chain Executive – Andrew K. Reese)

Compliance to the new financial reform bill will pose unique challenges

The 848-page financial reform bill signed into law in the U.S. on July 21 (the “Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010”) contains a six-page section, starting on page 838, that addresses the issue of “Conflict Minerals” coming into the supply chain from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The goal of Section 1502 is to ensure that certain minerals coming from the DRC are “conflict-free” – that is, not fueling the ongoing violence that has left more than 5 million people dead, and not funding the armed parties that have employed forced labor, child slavery and sexual terror as standard practice to control the minerals trade.

The minerals covered in the law – coltan (columbite-tantalite, a source of tantalum), cassiterite (tin), wolframite (tungsten) and gold – are used extensively in a variety of industrial, consumer and electronics products. Tin is used as a solder on circuit boards. Tantalum capacitors are used widely in the technology supply chain. Tungsten is used as tungsten carbide in applications like turning tools and milling, but it’s also used in cell phones to make them vibrate. Gold is used in jewelry, of course, but also used for the gold plating, printed circuit boards, connectors, switches and other electronic components. Collectively the minerals are referred to as the “3Ts, plus gold.” Read more here.

New Senate Bill Would Require Origin Disclosure for “Conflict Minerals”

(World Trade Interactive)

Legislation introduced April 24 in the Senate would require U.S.-registered companies selling products using columbite-tantalite, cassiterite or wolframite (or derivatives thereof) to annually disclose to the Securities and Exchange Commission the country of origin of those minerals. Metals derived from these minerals are used in common technological products such as mobile phones, laptops and digital cameras.

According to a joint press release from sponsors Sam Brownback, R-Kansas, Richard Durbin, D-Ill., and Russell Feingold, D-Wis., the Democratic Republic of Congo is rich in lucrative natural resources such as cassiterite (tin), columbite-tantalite or coltan (tantalum), wolframite (tungsten) and gold. These metals can be “inhumanely mined,” the press release states, and profits from selling them are often used to finance armed groups in the region, which has been “devastated by civil war, widespread human rights abuses and a humanitarian crisis that has resulted in the deaths of an estimated 5.4 million people.” Read more here.