Clifford Chance
Conflict minerals: Dodd-Frank turns a light on the DRC
1 October 2012
New rules have been adopted in the US requiring annual disclosures of the use in manufacturing of 'conflict minerals' sourced from and around the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The rules will bite from 2013 giving affected organisations only a few months to finalise their preparations.
Summary
On 22 August 2012 the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the United States adopted final rules under section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Act governing mandatory annual disclosures of the use of so-called "conflict minerals" extracted from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and adjoining countries.
Conflict minerals as defined include columbite-tantalite (coltan), cassiterite, gold, wolframite and their derivatives tantalum, tin and tungsten, regardless of the country of their origin. The US Secretary of State may in future include further minerals or derivatives in this definition. Given the use of conflict minerals in a wide range of products, the rules will impact up and down supply chains across a number of sectors, particularly the aerospace, automotive, consumer packaging, defence, electronics and communications, jewellery and technology sectors.
