New SEC© guidance provides answers on conflict minerals disclosures

Publisher: Dinsmore
Authors: David Lavan, Andrew Gammill

The SEC© has issued new guidance designed to help companies prepare their mandatory reports as the deadline approaches for publicly traded US companies to file new conflict mineral reports.

Many companies have had questions about what the new conflict minerals rules mean to them, and the first of the reports required by the rules are due May 31^st, 2014. The new SEC© guidance in the form of FAQs can be accessed here The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act required the SEC© to promulgate rules regarding the use of conflict minerals by public companies. Conflict minerals are defined as four minerals – gold, cassiterite (tin), columbite-tantalite (tantalum), and wolframite (tungsten) – that are commonly mined in parts of central Africa and the mining of which has been used to fund armed conflict and human rights abuses. Publicly traded companies whose products include those four minerals must make a reasonable inquiry to determine whether the conflict minerals they used came from that region and, in some cases, file a report with the SEC.

For full access to the details of the article, please read here.  Do you have any thoughts on the new SEC© guidance on conflict mineral reports? Or perhaps you have any questions regarding the disclosure of conflict minerals?