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11.08.18
Metal Miner: Conflict Gold Could Be Entering the U.S. Market Via Major Companies
We’ve touched on conflict materials in this space before, typically in reference to cobalt. A majority of the world’s cobalt is mined in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where conditions at so-called artisanal mines (i.e., small-scale mines) are sub-standard, according to reports by a variety of NGOs.
Among the concerns at these mines includes a lack of regulation, which in some cases leads to extremely unsafe working conditions and the use of child labor.
Amnesty International last year released a report in which a number of big-name companies came in for criticism with respect to their cobalt supply chains.
Yesterday, we cited a recent report by the Enough Project on cobalt and murky supply chain ethics.
Meanwhile, over at MetalMiner’s sister site, SpendMatters, you can find a similar report on the supply-chain issues related to gold — that is, conflict gold passing through some big-name companies en route to the U.S. market…