An artisanal gold mine in the DRC

Coltan is just one of four conflict minerals identified in the DRC, the other three are tin, tungsten, and gold. Rather than enrich the population, the abundance of these resources in the DRC has led to conflict, turmoil, and poverty. At the same time, we all profit from the use of these minerals in our everyday lives. However, our purchases do not need to support the conflict in the DRC. There are laws in place, and initiatives taken by some large company that aim to track minerals from their source of production in order to ensure that they are conflict-free (see sidebar). So buy conflict-free and support these initiatives!

But there is still much work to be done to stop the lucrative trade of conflict minerals. In 2010 the U.S. passed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which contained a section requiring companies to report where they sourced their tin, tungsten, tantalum (coltan) and gold from. Though this law has had an impact, companies have found it difficult or been slow to comply. In last years filings, out of more that 1,200 companies, only 24% were in full compliance with the law. But we can have an influence by voting with our dollars to reward companies that have made the best efforts to be conflict free, and we can encourage our friends, communities, schools, companies, cities, and states to commit to buying conflict free.

Conflict Minerals

One of the greatest tragedies that has come of the conflict in the DRC is the silence of the rest of the world. If you have been shocked by what you have learned about the DRC on this website, at one of our presentations, or elsewhere, then tell a friend. Tell all of your friends and tell all of them to tell all of their friends. The first step to action is awareness, and action is the key to change!