DRC: Is There Even Such a Thing as Conflict-Free Minerals?

Sep 4, 2015 | Tom Clynes, Take Part
View Original

For decades, it has been impossible to distinguish processed tantalum that originated in DRC from other sources. The Conflict-Free Sourcing Initiative and other endeavors aim to change that, and to ensure that your next cell phone doesn’t help finance violence and environmental destruction in one of the world’s most troubled regions. But some activists and researchers contend that attempts to produce conflict-free products have so far done more to assuage the guilt of companies and their customers than to improve the lives of Congolese people.