Number of companies ensuring they use conflict-free minerals drops

Nine years after the implementation of a law requiring publicly traded companies to ensure their raw materials don’t come from mines that use child labour or fund warlords or corrupt soldiers, companies’ efforts to comply continue to fall short.

Dodd-Frank legislation requires companies operating in conflict areas such as the the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to conduct due diligence to establish their commodities are conflict-free. The minerals involved are tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold (3TG) .

But US President Trump’s threat in 2017 to suspend Section 1502 and the SEC’s subsequent decision of not enforcing the law, has encouraged companies to neglect 3TG supply chain due diligence. Read Full Article - Financial Times, October 10, 2019