About Conflict Minerals

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Section 1502 of the Dodd Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (2010) came into effect on 13 November 2012, and requires all public US companies that manufacture products that contain tin, gold, tantalum or tungsten to investigate the source of those minerals to discover whether they originated in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) or its nine adjoining countries. The ruling was fueled by concerns that the trade of conflict minerals is funding rogue military forces responsible for crimes against humanity and extreme violence in the DRC.

Although the rule only applies to publicly traded companies that manufacture or contract to manufacture products that contain conflict minerals, the law in fact has a much wider impact. Private and international suppliers, distributors, importers, refiners and others have often had to field a massive number of information requests from the companies subject to the law.

Affected companies are required to seek and obtain 'reasonably reliable representations' from their suppliers regarding the facility used to process the minerals and the country of origin of the minerals. Suppliers often do not know their own supply chains, so this request entails a lot of work for them.

Challenges include communicating with suppliers, fielding requests, changing contracts, making public statements on the adopted conflict minerals policy and educating suppliers about why this information is necessary. It is especially challenging to do this across time zones in different languages and has been a hurdle when proprietary information has seemed at risk.

You can learn more about Conflict Minerals with the help of these following resources:

Forms

Form SD
Conflict Minerals Reporting Template (CMRT) [Excel]
Extended Minerals Reporting Template (EMRT) [Excel]

Smelter Resources

RMI Compliant Smelters and Refiners
RMI Active Smelters and Refiners

The Rule

The Dodd-Frank Act – Section 1502 Conflict Minerals
SEC Final Rule
OECD Due Diligence Guidance
SEC Small Entity Compliance Guide for the Conflict Minerals Disclosure
Mining the Disclosures report on the SEC Form SD filings done by the Responsible Sourcing Network

Sanctions

US Treasury: Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) current sanctions

3E Webinars On Demand

Conflict Minerals: Regulatory Updates and Notable Trends in 2016 Reporting
Conflict Minerals in Your Supply Chain? Understanding Your Obligations Under the Dodd-Frank Act
Conflict Minerals Compliance: Preparing for the End of the ‘Transition Period’
Conflict Minerals Compliance: Preparing for your SEC Filing
Conflict Minerals Compliance: Planning Your SEC Disclosure

Training

Delivering a Conflict Minerals Form Your Customers Will Approve
Open Supplier Training (German)
Open Supplier Training (Mandarin)

Articles

3 Things You Should Know About the Revised Conflict Minerals Rule (NAEM’S Green Tie Blog)
3E Releases Supply Chain Product Compliance Platform (Environmental Leader)
Conflict Minerals Regulations: Exploring the Potential Impact on Risk Management (Verisk Review)

3E EHS Expressions Blog

US Sanctions Now Include Conflict Minerals in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
List of “Worldwide Conflict Minerals Processing Facilities” Produced by Commerce Department
Conflict Minerals Compliance – Heads Up: Purchases you make this year may end up reportable at the end of the transition period
Conflict Minerals Rule Remains in Force After Court Ruling

Supplier Resources

3E™, formerly 3E Company, offers a comprehensive solution to help your organization comply with Conflict Minerals regulations. 3E leverages their global supplier network to quickly identify critical Conflict Mineral contacts within your supply chain. 3E Connect, formerly 3ESC, utilizes their own experienced North American-based obtainment team to reach deep into your supplier base to gather, validate and enrich the needed supplier and product level data. The data is securely stored in 3E Connect, the industry's leading web-based software platform, which also integrates with third party ERP systems. The 3E Connect Conflict Minerals compliance solution allows your organization to quickly respond to and fulfill Conflict Minerals requests from your downstream customers and report findings annually to the SEC. At a fraction of the cost to manage the program in-house, your organization can partner with 3E and launch your Conflict Minerals compliance program today.








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