Corporate & Securities Blog

Pursuant to Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Act, the SEC promulgated new disclosure and reporting requirements concerning the use of certain conflict minerals (tantalum, tin, tungsten and gold) originating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and certain adjoining countries (each a “Covered Country”). The new rule requires reporting companies to disclose whether conflict minerals are present in their products, whether they originated in a Covered Country, and the extent of the company’s due diligence effort with respect to the inquiries made and the measurers taken to determine the origin of the minerals and whether the products are conflict free. Reporting companies must file their annual Form SD and, depending upon the outcome of the due diligence, a Conflict Minerals Report, by the June 1, 2015 deadline. As companies prepare for the second year of filings, and in light of the pending litigation challenging the rule, many companies are looking for guidance.