Conflict Minerals

The Office of Threat Finance Countermeasures, in conjunction with other State Department bureaus and U.S. agencies, actively works to sever the links between mineral resources and conflict through government-to-government diplomatic efforts. The office also builds international support for due diligence guidelines intended to help industry develop a responsible minerals trade from conflict-affected and high-risk areas in the African Great Lakes Region. We engage with a variety of domestic and international partners from governments, the business community, and non-governmental organizations to promote the creation and use of conflict–free supply chains for gold, tin, tantalum and tungsten. We also assist other U.S. government agencies in providing support to the DRC and adjacent countries to improve transparency and regulatory reform in the minerals sector as part of a comprehensive effort to implement Section 1502 of the Wall Street Consumer Reform and Protection Act. In 2017, the State Department renewed the Public Private Alliance for Responsible Minerals Trade (PPA) for another five years. The PPA is a multi-sector and multi-stakeholder initiative that supports supply chain solutions to conflict minerals challenges in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Great Lakes Region (GLR) of Central Africa.