Tech companies must avoid “conflict minerals”

Tech firms trying to avoid using “conflict minerals” will need to work harder to keep them out of smartphones and tablets.

Companies are overlooking the risk that mining in countries other than the Democratic Republic of the Congo is linked to abuses and armed groups seeking to fund violence, claims a new report.

While existing laws on conflict minerals have focused on DRC and surrounding territories, where they have fuelled decades of war, new European rules coming into force this week take into account the “extreme risk” that tin, tungsten, tantalum and gold mined in countries like Colombia, Peru and Myanmar is equally tainted.