(University of Oregon School of Law, 2015-09-10) Silverman, Bryan Stuart
In June 2011, Apple Inc. stopped purchasing minerals for its electronics from the eastern parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (the “D.R. Congo”). Apple did so following the proposal of new federal legislation requiring companies to disclose “conflict minerals” used to manufacture their products. “Conflict minerals” include tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold (also commonly referred to as the “3 Ts and gold”), derived from the D.R. Congo and adjoining countries. The federal legislation was part of a humanitarian-activist agenda to dissuade corporations from purchasing minerals that subsidize armed groups—who control parts of the mining processes— and halt human rights violations resulting from those groups’ activities.
