Joint conflict-free tungsten programme announced
November 26, 2013
A new collaboration between the Conflict-Free Sourcing Initiative (CFSI) and the Tungsten Industry Conflict Minerals Council (TI-CMC) will make it easier for companies to source conflict-free tungsten. Through the joint development of a specialised framework, members of the TI-CMC may now choose to become validated as Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) conflict-free tungsten smelters under the CFSI’s Conflict-Free Smelter Program (CFSP).
This breakthrough marks the first time the CFSI and TI-CMC can provide information about conflict-free tungsten smelters, and comes just in time for US reporting requirements on conflict minerals in 2014.
“Over the past five years, companies have worked hard to address conflict minerals in their supply chains. Being able to provide companies with information about audit validated, conflict-free tungsten smelters is a real success for our initiative, companies, and crucially the people on the ground who are affected by conflict in central Africa,” stated Robert Lederer, Executive Director of the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition.
“We’re very pleased to have crafted this unified approach to addressing conflict minerals issues. The TI-CMC sees this collaboration as an efficient and practical way for tungsten smelters to provide confidence to their customers that their sourcing practices do not directly or indirectly support conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and adjoining countries,” stated James R Dale, Vice President of Member and Industry Relations for the Metal Powder Industries Federation(MPIF).
As part of the collaboration, TI-CMC compliant tungsten smelters may choose to undergo the Conflict-Free Smelter Program audit. The names of smelters compliant with the TI-CMC conflict-free tungsten program and CFSP compliant tungsten smelters will be publicly listed on the websites of the TI-CMC and the CFSI to help businesses make informed sourcing decisions.
www.conflictfreesourcinginitiative.org
