‘Conflict metal’ focus ignores other abuse
Abuses linked to mining in countries such as Myanmar and Colombia are being overlooked by technology companies focused only on eliminating “conflict minerals” from wartorn parts of Africa in their supply chains, according to researchers on Thursday.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, competition for mineral resources has fuelled two decades of conflict in its eastern provinces, including the 19982003 war. The country’s supply of tantalum, tin, tungsten and gold — metals used in smartphones, batteries and laptops — has been under scrutiny since 2010, when US laws required US-listed companies to ensure supply chains were free from “conflict minerals”.
Yet, the same minerals are being quarried in areas controlled by armed groups — sometimes using child labour — in countries such as Myanmar, Bolivia and Rwanda, according
to research published by risk consultancy group Verisk Maplecroft on Thursday.
The problem for technology companies is being able to trace the metals used in their products
to the source mine or smelter, the group says in a report.
“The problem is because this is so far down the supply chain, it’s difficult for technology companies to know if those minerals
they’re using are coming from irresponsibly managed operations,” says Stefan Sabo-Walsh of Verisk Maplecroft.
In extreme cases, the minerals are excavated using forced labour in order to buy weapons and fund violence.
After minerals are mined, they are sold to a middleman.
The raw metal is extracted and blended with other metals, the report says. The blend is exported to a country such as China and then transformed for use in tech products.
CONVOLUTED PROCESS
The complicated process “further muddies supply chain transparency efforts” for companies that strive to use only safe and ethical extraction, Verisk Maplecroft says.
Tin is ranked as having the highest risk for labour rights violations at illegal mines. Bolivia, Myanmar and Indonesia, some of the largest tin producers, pose an “extreme risk” for child labour at tin mines, the research shows.
Some smaller mines are not run by armed groups but still hurt the environment and local communities and are difficult to police, Sabo-Walsh says.