Many companies’ conflict minera...

September 27, 2016 Written by Mike Loch

By Mike Loch and Chris Bayer, PhD September 28, 2016 Many companies submitting conflict mineral disclosures to the SEC under Dodd-Frank Section 1502 failed basic plausibility tests concerning the Tin, Tantalum, Tungsten and Gold (3TG) Country of Origin (COO) and the 3TG Smelter or Refiner (SOR) countries in their annual reporting this year. As far as we know, no [...]

Highlights from 10th Forum on Respons...

May 18, 2016 Written by Mike Loch

I just returned home from an intense week of meetings in Paris associated with the 10th Forum on Responsible Mineral Supply Chains, co-organized by the ICGLR, OECD, and UN Group of Experts. With over 600 participants registered, this was the biggest ever meeting and significantly larger than the first forum held in December 2009 with [...]

“DRC Conflict-Free,” What the BLEEP D...

April 26, 2016 Written by Mike Loch

Earlier this month, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) decided not to file further action in the ongoing lawsuit with U.S. manufacturers, effectively ending three years of legal action to define whether a company needed to disclose that their products were either “DRC conflict-free” or not found to be “DRC conflict-free” according to the implementing [...]

Mike Loch named #1 Conflict Minerals ...

April 4, 2016 Written by Mike Loch

I am honored to be recognized as #1 on the Top 100 Conflict Minerals Influential Leaders by Assent Global. This would not be possible without the help and support from many, some whom also are recognized leaders and I would like to thank everyone working on this important issue for their efforts. It does matter [...]

ICGLR Open Letter

January 18, 2016 Written by Mike Loch

There are cost and challenges to sourcing from conflict addected areas and implementing traceabilty and due diligence. Check out the open letter on Mineral Market Crisis from the ICGLR [...]

Are you conflicted over getting an IP...

November 25, 2015 Written by Mike Loch

This is the second in a two post series. First post here. Based on current SEC guidance, an Independent Private Sector Audit (IPSA) is needed if a company files a conflict minerals report and makes a “DRC Conflict Free” product declaration. The SEC Conflict Minerals Final Rule estimated the cost of an IPSA to be [...]