Intel, Motorola Solutions, HP and Apple have become "pioneers of progress" through their efforts to avoid purchasing minerals that fund armed groups in Central Africa, according to a report released Thursday.
The Enough Project ranked companies based on the steps they have taken to make sure their mobile phones, iPads and other gadgets aren`t paying for the weapons used to terrorize Congolese civilians.
Congo is home to about 70 percent of the world`s supply of coltan, a mineral needed in mobile phones, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The vast country also has massive amounts of tin, gold, copper and cobalt.
While most of the companies had shown improvement since 2010, the Enough Project cited Nintendo in particular as trailing behind the rest of the industry when it comes to "conflict minerals."
Armed groups vying for control of these riches have used profits from illegal mining to purchase weapons used in gruesome attacks on civilians. In other cases, they have captured people and forced them to do the digging.
"The exploitation of Congo`s mineral resources continues to exacerbate conflict and instability on the ground and consumers are still largely in the dark as to whether or not their products are conflict free," the report said.
"It will take a holistic effort by multiple governments and industries to regulate the flow of illegal conflict minerals. The driver of that effort must remain the demand of the conscious consumer."
Thursday`s report comes just days before a key development is expected on the issue. U.S. legislation passed in July 2010 required American companies using tungsten, tin, tantalum and gold to reveal their supply chains in an effort to avoid using conflict minerals.
However, the law has not been fully implemented yet because the rules on how the law should be applied haven`t yet been drafted by the Securities and Exchange Commission....
Intel Motorola HP and Apple Praised for Clean Mineral Efforts
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