'Conflict Minerals' Bill Advances in House
WASHINGTON -- The US House Foreign Affairs Committee has approved a bill designed to ban so-called "conflict minerals" -- tin and other ores mined in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
H.R. 4128, also known as the Conflict Minerals Trade Act, would establish protocols for companies that import goods into the US to identify their products as conflict mineral-free or not. The bill covers the sale of minerals coltan, cassiterite, wolframite and their derivatives tantalum, tin and tungsten.
According to sponsor Jim McDermott (D-WA), the labeling will "make it much easier for US consumers to know whether the products they buy are helping to fuel the devastating war in the DRC." Estimates hold some 800 to 1,100 people are murdered each day in the Congo, and more than five million have died since the the civil war began a decade ago.
The legislation commissions a map of the DRC that will overlay areas of conflict with areas rich in mineral resources so refiners will know which mines are likely to fund conflict. The bill also requires importers of potential conflict goods to certify whether or not their imports contain conflict minerals and the US Trade Representative will report to Congress and the public which companies are importing goods containing conflict minerals. The legislation provides a two-year period before implementation to enable industries to implement successfully, and it requires industry to use outside auditors to determine whether refiners are indeed conflict-free.
Importers found to be in violation of the proposed law would be penalized under the bill.
The Senate is reviewing a similar bill; however, that legislation is said to be more limited in scope, and puts the onus on the Securities and Exchange Commission to require those who trade or use the minerals in question to disclose annually the country of origin and mine of origin of such minerals.
Some non-governmental organizations are proposing their own regulations as well. For example, the International Tin Research Institute, a UK-based trade body made up primarily of tin smelters and miners, has proposed a certification program, underwritten in part by a levy of $50/tonne which would be collected via smelters and spread up the supply chain.
