Trade and investment in natural mineral resources hold great potential for generating income, growth and prosperity, sustaining livelihoods and fostering local development. However, a large share of these resources is located in conflict-affected and high-risk areas. In these areas, exploitation of natural mineral resources can be a significant part of the economy and may contribute, directly or indirectly, to armed conflict, human rights violations and hinder economic and social development. The OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas clarifies how companies can identify and better manage risks throughout the entire mineral supply chain, from miners, local exporters and mineral processors to the manufacturing and brand-name companies that use these minerals in their products. Find out more about the OECD Due Diligence Guidance and our multi-stakeholder implementation process http://mneguidelines.oecd.org/mining.htm

1. © OECD – 2012 mneguidelines.oecd.org/mining.htm
The Guidance aims to help compa-
nies respect human rights, observe
applicable rules of international hu-
manitarian law in situations of
armed conflict, avoid contributing to
conflict and cultivate transparent
mineral supply chains and sustaina-
ble corporate engagement in the
mineral sector.
HELPING COMPANIES SOURCE MINERALS RESPONSIBLY
Trade and investment in natural mineral resources
hold great potential for generating income, growth
and prosperity, sustaining livelihoods and fostering
local development. However, a large share of these
resources is located in conflict-affected and high-risk areas. In
these areas, exploitation of natural mineral resources can be a
significant part of the economy and may contribute, directly or
indirectly, to armed conflict, human rights violations and hinder
economic and social development.
Breaking the link between
conflict and the mineral trade
Companies using minerals sourced in
conflict zones are increasingly
expected to ensure their supply
chains are clean and transparent.
Illegally exploited minerals include
gold and those commonly found in
electronic equipment such as tin-
cassiterite (used in laptops), tanta-
lum-coltan (mobile phones, fibre
optics) and tungsten-wolframite
(light bulbs). ►
A five-step framework for risk-based due diligence
Establish strong company management systems
Identify and assess risk in the supply chain
Design and implement a strategy to respond to
identified risks
Carry out independent third-party audit of supply chain
due diligence at identified points in the supply chain
Report on supply chain due diligence
A GLOBAL STANDARD
TOWARDS CONFLICT-FREE MINERAL SUPPLY CHAINS
The OECD Due Diligence Guidance
for Responsible Supply Chains of
Minerals from Conflict-Affected
and High-Risk Areas clarifies how
companies can identify and better
manage risks throughout the entire
mineral supply chain, from miners,
local exporters and mineral proces-
sors to the manufacturing and
brand-name companies that use
these minerals in their products.
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2. © OECD – 2014 mneguidelines.oecd.org/mining.htm
Find out more at:
mneguidelines.oecd.org/mining.htm
For further information, including
how to participate in the OECD-hosted
implementation programme, please
contact:
Mr Tyler Gillard
Investment Division
tyler.gillard@oecd.org
Tel: +33-1 45 24 90 93
Building on other
investment policy tools
OECD Guidelines for
Multinational Enterprises
The Guidelines make
recommendations to companies in
all major areas of business ethics
to ensure that they operate in
harmony with government policies
and host societies. They are the
most important comprehensive
instrument for corporate
responsibility in existence today
and one of the very few
multilaterally agreed by
governments.
mneguidelines.oecd.org
OECD Risk Awareness Tool for
Multinational Enterprises in
Weak Governance Zones
The Risk Awareness Tool aims to
help companies that invest in
countries where governments are
unwilling or unable to assume
their responsibilities. It provides a
checklist of practical questions for
all major risks and ethical
dilemmas that companies may
face in areas of weak governance,
including obeying the law and
observing international
instruments, heightened care in
managing investments, knowing
business partners and clients and
dealing with public sector officials,
and speaking out about
wrongdoing.
www.oecd.org/daf/investment/wgz
A multi-stakeholder process
The Guidance is practically-oriented,
emphasising collaborative and
constructive approaches to solving
complex challenges.
A multi-stakeholder process devel-
oped the Guidance with in-depth
engagement from OECD and African
countries, industry and civil society,
as well as the UN Group of Experts
on the Democratic Republic of the
Congo. Since its adoption in
November 2010, the Guidance has
become the leading international
and industry standard for companies
to meet the expectations of the in-
ternational community and custom-
ers vis-à-vis minerals from conflict-
affected and high-risk areas.
The OECD Council at ministerial
level adopted a Recommendation
on the Due Diligence Guidance
on 25 May 2011. While not legally-
binding, this Recommendation
reflects the common position and
political commitment of 44 adhering
countries, including Brazil and
Colombia.
The UN Security Council Resolution
1952/2010 [S/RES/1952(2010)] sup-
ports taking forward the due dili-
gence recommendations contained
in the final report of the UN Group of
Experts on the Democratic Republic
of the Congo, which endorses and
relies on the OECD Due Diligence
Guidance.
The Lusaka Declaration signed by 11
Heads of State of the International
Conference on the Great Lakes
Region (ICGLR) in December 2010
states the processes and standards
of the OECD Due Diligence Guidance
will be integrated into the six tools of
the Regional Initiative against the
Illegal Exploitation of Natural
Resources. The Guidance has since
been incorporated in the ICGLR
Regional Certification Mechanism
and legal frameworks of the Demo-
cratic Republic of the Congo and
Rwanda.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission’s Final Rule on Section
1502 of the Dodd-Frank Act on
Conflict Minerals recognises the
OECD Guidance as an international
framework available to companies to
perform due diligence for responsi-
ble mineral sourcing and thereby
help them meet their reporting obli-
gations under theAct.
Guidance on specific minerals
Supplements for specific minerals
form an integral part of the Guid-
ance. The Supplement on Tin, Tan-
talum and Tungsten and the
Supplement on Gold are both part
of a Revised Recommendation on
the Due Diligence Guidance (2nd
Edi-
tion).
Implementing the Guidance
The OECD is currently hosting the
implementation phase of the Guid-
ance. This voluntary initiative in-
cludes over 500 organisations from
donor and implementing govern-
ments, the private sector, civil socie-
ty, as well as other experts and
stakeholders. The OECD Due Dili-
gence implementation programme
is targeted at both the gold and the
3T supply chains and is intended to
facilitate outreach and uptake of the
Guidance globally. Key activities
include awareness raising and train-
ing, the development of easy to use
guides and materials, case studies on
emerging best practices within the
private sector, as well as the dissem-
ination of widely supported tools
and methodologies for implement-
ing the Guidance. In addition, a sub-
group of over 70 organisations have
created an Artisanal and Small-scale
Mining (ASM) Hub to explore how to
enable and encourage responsibly
mined gold in this non-industrialised
sector.
The multi-stakeholder OECD-ICGLR-
UN Group of Experts hosted Forum
facilitates the building of partner-
ships across producing, processing
and consuming economies and re-
port on “mine to market” projects of
responsibly-sourced gold out carried
out in cooperation with host
governments and implementing
partners. ■