Mixed results in American effort to stop trade in 'conflict minerals'

THE United States is conducting diplomacy to stop trade in "conflict minerals" - popularly known as blood diamonds, blood gold, or blood tin - because such sales help fund armies and rebel groups in countries facing civil war and internal strife.

Efforts by the US and other countries, however, are showing mixed results, as it is proving extremely difficult to persuade the global trading community to not buy commodities extracted in conflict zones by political players who use the earnings to wage war and prolong conflict in troubled places such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

The four conflict minerals at the centre of the illegal trade are tin, tungsten, tantalum, and gold ore, which are mined in eastern DRC, and transit through intermediaries before being purchased by multinational companies. These minerals are required in the manufacture of mobile phones, laptops and MP3 players, and they could appear in apparel, fashion accessories, watches, eyeglasses, batteries, solar panels, laboratory equipment, welding tools, and dental fillings.