Clinton praises ‘conflict mineral’ provision in financial overhaul

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton praised a provision in the financial overhaul aimed at forcing manufacturers to reconsider the use of minerals that could be fueling violence in Congo.

The provision will affect high-tech manufacturers who use the minerals in consumer electronic devices. Activists who lobbied for the amendment charge that warlords make millions off American technology companies by controlling mines that contain minerals used in cell phones, computers, DVD players and other consumer electronics products.

Clinton said this week that conflict minerals have “funded a cycle of conflict [in Congo] that has left more than 5 million people dead since 1998, displaced countless more, and spawned an epidemic of sexual and gender-based violence.” She noted that the country has formally expressed its support for the measure. 

The law mirrors a bill introduced by Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) requiring companies to make annual Securities and Exchange Commission disclosures about what materials they use and the origin of certain minerals.

The Enough Project, an anti-genocide group, directly links Congo violence to the largest 21 technology companies. A handful protested the opening of the Apple store in Georgetown last month.

The bill specifically targets gold, tin, tungsten and tantalum. Tantalum stores electricity in cell phones, tungsten makes cell phones vibrate, tin is used in circuit boards, and gold is used to coat wiring, according to Enough Project’s Jon Prendergast.

Some electronics companies have expressed concern that the bill will be tough to comply with, as minerals origins can be hard to trace.