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Date: April 30, 2024 Tue
Time: 12:31 am
Time: 12:31 am
Results for minerals
5 results foundAuthor: Arimatsu, Louise Title: Conflict Minerals: The Search for a Normative Framework Summary: The belief that the armed conflicts in the mineral-rich eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo have been perpetuated by the income from the illicit trade in these minerals has brought together a broad coalition of interests linked by a common objective: to regulate ‘conflict minerals’. This has generated a wave of initiatives, strategies and regulations involving the trade in minerals; many of these seek to prevent armed conflict while others are aimed more broadly at contributing to the maintenance of peace and security through greater transparency and good governance measures. These ambitious programmes of action, whether at international, regional or domestic levels, have raised difficult questions including how to distinguish between legal and illegal trade within an unregulated economy compounded by the existence of armed conflict. A fully regulated mining sector has the potential to offer huge rewards for local communities and the state, but whether the regulation of conflict minerals can achieve its avowed aim as a conflict-prevention strategy remains to be seen. There is an overriding need for governments to ensure that any measures adopted, whether legally binding or not, take into account any potential unintended consequences that are likely to have an adverse impact on the very communities that the measures are intended to protect. Details: London: Chatham House, 2012. 38p. Source: Internet Resource: International Law Programme Paper IL PP 2012/01: Accessed September 25, 2012 at: http://www.chathamhouse.org/sites/default/files/public/Research/International%20Law/0912pparimatsu_mistry.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Africa URL: http://www.chathamhouse.org/sites/default/files/public/Research/International%20Law/0912pparimatsu_mistry.pdf Shelf Number: 126450 Keywords: Conflict Minerals (Africa)Illegal TradeMineralsNatural Resources |
Author: Atta-Asamoah, Andrews Title: Addressing the 'Conflict Minerals' Crisis in the Great Lakes Region Summary: The year 2011 heralded the convergence of various initiatives seeking to curtail the financing of conflict in the Great Lakes region through the illegal exploitation of minerals. The combined effect of seeking to comply with the various processes has had significant implications at the national, regional and international levels by altering the dynamics of mineral exploitation in the region in both positive and negative ways. The positive impact has been in the area of the immense contribution of the initiatives to increased awareness of the role of illegally exploited minerals in financing conflict in the region and the need for various stakeholders to exercise responsibility in the sourcing and trading of minerals so as not to inadvertently fuel insecurity. On the flip side, however, this increased awareness has led to the labelling of minerals from the region, particularly gold, tin, tantalum and tungsten, as potential conflict minerals. While this has been important in boosting efforts at minimising conflict financing through the exploitation of minerals, the ‘conflict mineral’ label associated with the region has led to interrupted demand for minerals from the Great Lakes, the closure of some businesses dealing with the purchase and export of minerals, the loss of employment and a reduction in income within the local economy, and ultimately threatens to negatively reinforce the crisis created by the various conflicts in the region if nothing is done to stem the trend of unintended consequences. Against this background, this policy brief aims at providing a framework for responding to the unintended consequences of existing initiatives in the Great Lakes region. It details the areas of immediate impact of these initiatives, their overall impact on the trends of insecurity in the region and ways of addressing the issues in the short to medium term. Details: Pretoria: Institute for Security Studies, 2012. 4p. Source: ISS Policy Brief No. 35: Internet Resource: Accessed October 1, 2012 at http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/ISS_AddressingtheConflictMineralsCrisisintheGreatLakesRegion.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Africa URL: http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/ISS_AddressingtheConflictMineralsCrisisintheGreatLakesRegion.pdf Shelf Number: 126542 Keywords: Conflict Minerals (Africa)Illegal TradeMineralsNatural Resources |
Author: Rubin, Jeffrey Title: Conflict Minerals: What Issuers Should Know Summary: The eastern Congo has been embroiled in violent conflict for more than fifteen years. It has been estimated that the conflict has cost, directly and indirectly, over 5,400,000 lives, more than any other conflict since World War II, and has involved a profound humanitarian crisis with rape as a weapon of war. For a number of years various nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), including notably The Enough Project based in Washington, have made efforts to stem the flow of funds to rebel groups, militias, and criminal networks within the Congolese army arising from the sale of the ores originating in the eastern Congo, the so-called “conflict minerals.” The efforts by the NGOs have been intended to influence companies at the top of the minerals supply chain to use their buying power to exert pressure downward through the entire supply chain and thereby to influence their suppliers to source only conflict-free minerals. The NGOs’ efforts to highlight the conflict minerals issues have been reflected in proposed Congressional legislation since 2008. In 2010, a bill introduced by Senator Durbin and Representative McDermott became part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, as Section 1502 of the Act. This memorandum presents a summary of certain provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act and the proposed rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) relating to conflict minerals. This summary has been prepared in order to assist companies to better understand the scope of the rules the SEC is required to implement. Because the SEC has not, at the date of this memorandum, adopted its final rules, the guidance set forth herein is subject to the qualification that the SEC’s final rules may differ from its proposed rules. We encourage readers to discuss the matters reviewed in this summary with attorneys of Hogan Lovells, both to review the statutory and proposed rulemaking provisions in greater detail and to consider the implications of these provisions to the specific business operations in which the reader is engaged. At the end of this memorandum is a suggested Company Action Plan that may be helpful in assisting companies preparing to comply with the conflict minerals provisions. Details: New York: Hogan Lovells, 2012. 28p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 7, 2012 at http://www.hoganlovells.com/files/Publication/c9f789ae-791b-42b5-8af8-5ee80173b9bf/Presentation/PublicationAttachment/7cc26192-815a-4df8-bc0b-3fdeba11c55f/Rubin%20Conflict%20Minerals%20Memorandum%20%282%29.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://www.hoganlovells.com/files/Publication/c9f789ae-791b-42b5-8af8-5ee80173b9bf/Presentation/PublicationAttachment/7cc26192-815a-4df8-bc0b-3fdeba11c55f/Rubin%20Conflict%20Minerals%20Memorandum%20%282%29.pdf Shelf Number: 126587 Keywords: Conflict MineralsIllegal TradeMineralsNatural Resources |
Author: SaveActMine Title: Coloured gemstones in eastern DRC: Tourmaline exploitation and trade in the Kivus Summary: Responsible sourcing efforts in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to date have focused predominantly on the so-called 3TG (tin, tungsten, tantalum and gold) sector. Nevertheless, the artisanal exploitation of other minerals including semi-precious gemstones, such as tourmaline, can also make notable contributions to local livelihoods. At the 9th OECD Forum in May 2015, rising tourmaline exploitation and trade in eastern DRC saw Congolese stakeholders, including SaveActMine (SAM), highlight the relevance of the DRC's coloured gemstone sector to responsible sourcing within the context of the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas. Following up on these observations, IPIS and SAM undertook a joint research mission in September 2015 to look into tourmaline exploitation and trade in the Kivus. This research confirmed that eastern DRC's tourmaline sector appears to be experiencing notable growth. Since 2012, a rise in gemstone prices has reportedly seen the sector attracting thousands of artisanal miners during boom periods in the Kivus alone. Tourmaline sites visited in the context of the present research in the south of Masisi territory (North Kivu) and around Numbi (Kalehe territory, South Kivu) experienced sizeable spikes in artisanal worker numbers in 2014 and 2015, with four out of five miners in the Numbi area reportedly engaged in tourmaline extraction. This has seen Numbi develop into a notable market for gemstone (specifically tourmaline) trading. Local authorities say that most locally registered traders deal in tourmaline. Here, stakeholders reported the potential for making considerable profits from high quality stones. Until recently, regulatory neglect and a lack of official trading counters for the purchase and export of gemstones from the DRC, had seen the Congolese coloured gemstone trade develop almost exclusively in the informal sector. As such, exploitation to date has overwhelmingly taken place illegally, with stones leaving the country illicitly for sale in neighbouring countries, such as Rwanda and Tanzania. Rising interest in the sector has now seen the licensing of exporters in coloured gemstones in both North and South Kivu. Growing interest in tourmaline indicates that the coloured gemstone sector may have the potential to contribute to job creation and economic development in eastern DRC. However, a burgeoning trade in lightweight, high value gemstones among artisanal miners and informal traders can also pose potential risks concerning conflict financing and human rights abuse. Research for this report came across accounts of predation by security actors occasioning forced labour, night exploitation and illegal taxation during at least one artisanal tourmaline mining spike, as well as claims of involvement of undisciplined public security forces in tourmaline exploitation and trade. Moreover, whilst much tourmaline mining in the Kivus is currently taking place in areas benefiting from improved general security, banditry remains problematic and non-state armed groups continue to operate in adjacent localities. The above factors suggest that tourmaline may no longer be a marginal issue when it comes to responsible mineral sourcing from eastern DRC. Indeed, research for this report also encountered claims that some mineral traders can declare minerals like cassiterite as low value tourmaline to evade tagging requirements and reduce tax payments. This raises questions about tourmaline's significance to ensuring the robust implementation of responsible sourcing for other minerals. IPIS/SAM research also highlighted a number of conditions potentially favourable to responsible souring from certain areas visited in the context of this study. These included improved local security conditions, the existence of validated and iTSCi monitored sites in the vicinity, and increased awareness of OECD due diligence requirements among stakeholders, including efforts to engage on issues of OECD compliance, amongst others. Details: Antwerp: IPIS, 2016. 62p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 24, 2016 at: http://ipisresearch.be/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/20160506_toumaline_eng.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Congo, Democratic Republic URL: http://ipisresearch.be/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/20160506_toumaline_eng.pdf Shelf Number: 146110 Keywords: Exploitation of MineralsIllegal MiningMineralsNatural Resources |
Author: Global Witness Title: Under-Mined: How corruption, mismanagement and political influence is undermining investment in Uganda's mining sector and threatening people and environment Summary: Uganda is rich in natural resource wealth such as gold, tin and phosphate that could create jobs and support the country's developing economy by generating tax revenues. However, our 18 month long investigation has exposed endemic corruption and mismanagement in the country's fledgling mining sector that means crooked officials, and international investors are profiting at the expense of Uganda's people, environment and economy. Key findings of the investigation include: Miners are working in dangerous, largely unregulated conditions - with children exposed to toxic chemicals on a daily basis Almost half the world's remaining mountain gorillas are at risk as mining threatens Bwindi and Rwenzori national parks, part of the famous Virunga ecosystem, and also risks the economically critical tourism industry which depends on the country's natural beauty and wildlife The country is deprived of tax revenues that could be spent on schools, hospitals and roads Minerals from the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan - that might be funding conflict and human rights abuses - pass through Uganda on their way to international markets Details: London: Global Witness, 2017. 87p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 21, 2018 at: https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/oil-gas-and-mining/uganda-undermined/ Year: 2017 Country: Uganda URL: https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/oil-gas-and-mining/uganda-undermined/ Shelf Number: 150319 Keywords: Environmental CrimesMineralsMining IndustryNatural ResourcesOffenses Against the EnvironmentalPolitical Corruption |