Most Companies in the Dark on Conflict Minerals

Conflict minerals are difficult to dig out of U.S. supply chains. Three years after U.S. companies began filing reports about their efforts to find minerals linked to armed militia groups in Africa in their supply chains, more than 70 percent say they still cannot make a determination. More than 1,200 companies filed conflict mineral reports due to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission by June, ranging from Apple Inc. to General Motors Co., according to separate analyses this month backed by the two largest conflict minerals software companies Assent Compliance Inc. and Source Intelligence. “This is giving us true insight into company behavior,” said Chris Bayer, an independent academic with non-profit Development International, which conducted the study backed by Assent and other organizations.