EU introduces a control procedure for conflict minerals
The European Commission has recently published a so-called secondary regulation which defines how it will assess and approve systems for controlling conflict minerals. The systems can be used by metal importers from the EU to show that their products do not come from mines or smelters that violate human rights.
The provisions concern the supply chains for the import of tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold.
The four most commonly mined conflict minerals (known as 3TGs, from their initials) are cassiterite (for tin), wolframite (for tungsten), coltan (for tantalum), and gold ore, which are extracted from the eastern Congo, and passed through a variety of intermediaries before being purchased.
