What are Conflict Minerals?

The term “conflict minerals” is defined as columbite -tantalite (tantalum); cassiterite (tin); wolframite (tungsten); gold; or their derivatives; (3TG) or any other mineral or its derivatives determined by the US Secretary of State (in future) to be financing conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or an adjoining country.

  • Tantalum
  • Tin
  • Tungsten
  • Gold

Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and 9 adjoining countries.Areas Affected

Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic, Congo Republic, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.

 

Dodd-Frank Act

Section 1502  says: “It is the sense of the Congress that the exploitation and trade of conflict minerals originating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is helping to finance conflict characterized by extreme levels of violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo…..”

Passed into law on July 21, 2010, rules have been drafted and final rules were adopted on August 22, 2012.

Who is affected?

The law states that it is applicable to all SEC “Issuers” or publicly traded companies, however many private companies in the supply chains of these companies will be impacted indirectly.  The law applies to you if the following are true.

  • Are you an SEC 13(a) or 15(d) “Issuer”?
  • Do you manufacture, or contract to manufacture products containing conflict minerals?
  • Are conflict minerals necessary to the functionality or production of the product manufactured by or for you?

 

Steps to be taken by Manufacturers

  • Review existing supply chains and Supplier notifications and declaration gathering on the Conflict Minerals
  • Conduct a Reasonable Country of Origin Inquiry (RCOI)
  • Using an acceptable eg:OECD to determine source and chain of custody of conflict minerals
  • Determine whether conflict minerals are from Covered Countries, scrap or recycled; describe methods and results
  • Prepare either a Form SD or a Conflict Minerals Report AND a Form SD describing the measures taken in Due Diligence
  • Obtain and certify an independent 3rd party audit and report on methods and results
  • Disclose conflict minerals determination through filing Form SD and posting on publicly available company website

 

Our Services Include

  • Scope Assessment , Strategy development, Conflict Minerals Compliance Plan, Consultation
  • Supplier notifications and declaration gathering, Review existing supply chains, Collection, interpretation and documentation of results. Help customer in identifying the Reasonable country of Origin (RCOI)
  • Working on the iPoint Conflict Minerals platform and CMRT templates from customer and supplier
  • Support customer in Due Diligence on the source and chain of custody of its conflict minerals, filing form SD and Conflict Minerals report preparation to SEC

 

 

We have been actively involved in the Conflict Minerals issue since the beginning and our client list includes some of the largest suppliers in the automotive industry.  Contact us for case histories and consultation regarding your unique situation.

Email or call for more information:  techsupport@youtechgroup.com