It’s been almost a century since the Democratic Republic of Congo has been consistently exploited for its vast natural resources & mineral wealth. According to the reports submitted before the Congolese Parliament, a few years back, the investigation committee had uncovered some really shocking details about the ongoing illegal exploitation of Congo‘s natural resources, and the illegal trade of Congo’s Conflict Minerals.
Conflict Minerals are mined in conditions of ‘armed conflicts and human rights abuses’. Minerals including casseterite, wolframite, coltan, and gold are widely extracted from Congo, especially from its eastern parts. These minerals are purchased by various multinational electronic companies across the world, and are widely used to manufacture of a variety of electronic devices including mobile phones, laptops, MP3 players, and various other consumer electronic items.
Conflict Minerals Regulation Act aims to put an end to the constant exploitation and atrocities going on in Congo, by closely monitoring the issuers & the companies that use Conflict Minerals. According to this act, both domestic and foreign providers of Conflict Minerals, as well as the companies that use them, are forcefully obliged to comply with Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Conflicts Minerals Provision), and therefore should disclose the details of the Conflict Minerals that they use, in their annual reports. This public disclosure will highlight the exploitation and trade of minerals from Democratic Republic of Congo and its adjoining countries.
Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act was passed by the US Senate on May 20, 2010, and was signed by American President Barack Obama on July 21, 2010.
According to experts, this Act will completely purge the funding of armed groups in Democratic Republic of Congo. Armed groups in and around Congo make millions of dollars every year by selling Conflict Minerals and their derivatives, to various companies across the world.
According to the Conflict Minerals Regulation Act, companies are legally bound to publically disclose whether their products contain conflict minerals or not, while submitting their annual reports. Companies that use Conflict Minerals should file a separate report along with their annual report, stating the steps taken to properly exercise the due diligence on the source and the chain of custody of the conflict minerals, the details of the products which are not “DRC Conflict Free”, the processing facilities, the country of origin of the Conflict Minerals, and the efforts to determine the origin. Such reports would help in getting better transparency and accountability from those companies & issuers who handle Conflict Mineral ores or their derivatives.
Enventure Technologies, global leaders in environmental compliance services, provide Conflict Minerals traceability auditing & consulting services to help companies and businesses understand and comply with the Conflict Minerals Regulation requirements that may impact the manufacture of their products. We have a team of environmental compliance experts who can address your questions regarding Conflict Minerals Disclosure, and provide you with the needed guidance with the compliance requirements of Securities and Exchange Commission.
Need any guidance on environmental compliance & Conflict Minerals Disclosure? Drop us a line and we will get back to you as soon as possible!
