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A faulty scheme could be the reason Apple, Intel, and Tesla are using conflict minerals


Metals And Mining

A faulty scheme could be the reason Apple, Intel, and Tesla are using conflict minerals

Many of the world’s largest companies, including Apple, Intel, and Tesla, maybe using conflict minerals produced in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in their products. They rely on a certification program accused of laundering irresponsibly mined metals.

According to Global Witness’s latest report, an international non-profit that challenges power abuses worldwide, several companies utilizing the International Tin Association’s Tin Supply Chain Initiative (ITSCI) program are allegedly atfault for fueling conflict.

The ITSCI scheme, launched after the 2010 Dodd-Frank legislation, requires US-based firms to vet their supply chains to avoid using minerals linked to guerillas and human rights abuse.

Global Witness’ report suggests the program is not fulfilling its purpose as the non-profit’s researchers gathered compelling evidence of ITSCI permitting the laundering of ore from mines controlled by militia or using child labor.

In one mining area in the DRC, the Global Witness investigation found that nearly 90% of minerals introduced into ITSCI in the first quarter of 2021 arrived from operations not certified to meet human rights and security standards.

Global Witness’s report claims ITSCI has ignored and downplayed these issues, as the organizations are run by two powerful tantalum and tin associations—the International Tin Association (ITA) and the Tantalum-Niobium International Study Center (TIC).

This is not the first time big tech companies have been linked to conflict minerals. Five of the world’s largest tech firms—Alphabet, Apple, Dell, Tesla, and Microsoft—     were named in a lawsuit in December 2021, accusing them of being complicit in the death of children in Africa who were forced to mine cobalt.


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