As we have pointed out on numerous occasions, the United States has subjected itself to a significant degree of import dependency when it comes to the supply of critical minerals – a dependency that is in many cases homegrown and unnecessary. This over-reliance on foreign mineral sources comes with many strings attached, particularly when supplier nations fall into the category of those ranked only “partly free” or “not free” on various indices measuring freedom in the world.

The term “conflict minerals” has long entered the public discourse, but has really only “taken center stage for thousands of buying organizations across the United States” with the passage of the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform law and respective rules handed down by the SEC in 2012. Confusion relating to the requirements for companies to disclose whether they source conflict minerals – tantalum, tin, tungsten or gold – from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and its surrounding regions looms large.

Our friends at Metal Miner, who recently released a white paper on building responsible manufacturing supply chains in the context of conflict minerals, have organized an event for May 6 in Chicago aimed at providing interested parties “the opportunity to ask their most challenging questions of some of the industry’s most knowledgeable conflict minerals experts.”

To learn more about the event titled “Conflict Minerals EDGE,” click here.