How can manufacturers – and consumers – fight the conflict minerals that are destabilising central Africa?
The illegal trade of tantalum, tungsten, tin and gold from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and surrounding countries is fueling conflict in central Africa. Sales of these conflict minerals help fund arms for militias, ultimately leading to human rights abuses. Meanwhile, US companies that use these metals are facing growing pressure to find sources that are conflict-free. An Securities and Exchange Commission rule, which had been scheduled to take effect next month, would require the vast majority of US companies to disclose whether they use conflict minerals from the region.
Now the SEC rule has come under fire: A US appeals court last week ruled that part of the regulation – a provision requiring companies to state whether their products use conflict minerals – is unconstitutional. That, and other ongoing litigation, has raised uncertainty about exactly how the conflict minerals rule will take effect.
The good news for companies is that compliance with these new regulations just got easier. In January, the Conflict Free Sourcing Initiative (CFSI) announced the existence of certified conflict-free smelters for all four of the conflict minerals. A key step in the supply chain, smelters turn rocks into purified metals for use in electronics. Tungsten was the last of the minerals to gain a verified smelter, and more smelters are expected in the coming months. As of 3 April, there were nearly 80 conflict-free smelters.
Some big name companies are taking their efforts a step further. Apple has started publicizing which of its suppliers may be sourcing minerals from conflict zones. The first list showed 104 smelters that were not yet verified as safe. The company also has vowed to go completely conflict-free by the end of 2014, meaning that all of its minerals will come from verifiable sources. Intel also recently announced that all of its microprocessors released in 2014 will be conflict-free.
Conflict minerals 101
Tantalum is a crucial ingredient in electronics manufacturing. In fact, half of all mined tantalum goes into electronics, and it is found in almost all electronic equipment, including mobile phones, laptops and hard drives. It is also used on an industrial scale, in jet engines, ships and missiles.
Tantalum can hold the highest electrical charge of any metal, which makes it an ideal component for a device called a capacitor, which stores and releases an electric charge. An average mobile phone only contains about 40mg of tantalum – a relatively insignificant amount, until one considers the hundreds of millions of devices in use.
According to the SEC, central Africa accounts for 15-20% of the world’s tantalum supply, although some reports put the figure closer to 50%. The richest deposits of coltan, the naturally-occurring ore that tantalum is extracted from, are found in eastern Congo, where mining is done by hand.
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