Conflict minerals from the Democratic Republic of the Congo: global tungsten processing plants, a critical part of the t

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) analyzes supply chains to identify and define major components of mineral and material flows from ore extraction, through intermediate forms, to a final product. Two major reasons necessitate these analyses: (1) to identify risks associated with the supply of critical and strategic minerals to the United States and (2) to provide greater supply chain transparency so that policymakers have the information necessary to ensure domestic legislation compliance. This fact sheet focuses on the latter. The USGS National Minerals Information Center has been asked by governmental and non-governmental organizations to provide information on tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold (collectively known as “3TG minerals”) processing facilities worldwide in response to U.S. legislation aimed at removing the link between the trade in these minerals and civil unrest in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Post beneficiation processing plants (smelters and refineries) of 3TG mineral ores and concentrates were identified by company and industry association representatives as being the link in the 3TG mineral supply chain through which these minerals can be traced to their source of origin (mine); determining the point of origin is critical to establishing a transparent conflict mineral supply chain (U.S. Government Accountability Office, 2012, p. 19). This fact sheet, the first in a series of 3TG mineral fact

Global consumers of tungsten concentrates for the production of ammonium paratungstate and ferrotungsten in 2013–14.

sheets, focuses on the tungsten supply chain by listing plants that consume tungsten concentrates to produce ammonium paratungstate and ferrotungsten worldwide.

Background

The mining and beneficiation of tin (in cassiterite), niobium and tantalum (in columbite-tantalite or “coltan”), tungsten (in wolframite), and gold have been linked to civil unrest and human rights violations in the eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo since the late 1990s. During the early 2000s, reports published by the United Nations Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (UN GoE) and other non-governmental organizations identified foreign and domestic armed groups that sought to profit from the production and trade of 3TG minerals. These groups took control of many artisanal mining operations in the eastern Provinces of Katanga, Maniema, North Kivu, Orientale, and South Kivu of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The revenues collected by these armed groups through the production and sale of 3TG minerals from mining areas under their control reportedly continues to perpetuate civil unrest in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (United Nations Security Council, 2014, p. 3, 42–51).

Country Plant type

Austria China China China

China China China China China

China APT APT APT APT

APT APT APT APT APT

Location

Bergla, St. Martin im Sulmtal, Styria Luanchuan County, Henan Province Chongyi County, Ganzhou, Jiangxi Province Dayu smelting plant, Dayu County, Jiangxi Province Dongtai, Jiangsu Province Longyan, Fujian Province Fujian Province Jiangxi Province Xincheng

Zhanggong District, Ganzhou, Jiangxi Province Ganzhou, Jiangxi Province

Gan County, Ganzhou, Jiangxi Province

Guantang Industrial Zone, Chao’an County, Chaozhou, Guangdong Province Ganzhou, Jiangxi Province

Chenzhou Mining Tungsten Products Plant, Hunan Province Xintang Town, Hengdong County, Hengyang, Hunan Province Huanglong Industrial District, Huanglong Town, Dayu County, Ganzhou, Jiangxi Province Changlong Town, Chongyi County, Ganzhou, Jiangxi Province Langfang Tungsten & Molybdenum Material Plant, Langfang, Hebei Province Qiancun, Heyu Town, Luanchuan County, Luoyang, Henan Province Xiagou Industry Region, Xigong District, Luoyang, Henan Province Nanchang, Jiangxi Province

Wendeng District, Weihai, Shandong Province Fujian Xiamen Tungsten Products Plant, Haicang District, Xiamen, Fujian Province Guihua Village, Renhua County, Shaoguan, Guangdong Province Hetang District, Zhuzhou, Hunan Province

Operator/owner

Wolfram Bergbau und Hütten AG (Sandvik AB, 100%) China Molybdenum Co., Ltd. Chongyi Zhangyuan Tungsten Co., Ltd. Dayu Weiliang Tungsten Co., Ltd.

Dongtai Huihuang Tungsten & Molybdenum Co., Ltd. Fujian Jinxin Tungsten Co., Ltd. Fujian Ninghua Jinjiang Tungsten Co., Ltd. Ganxian Shirui New Material Co., Ltd. Ganzhou Haichuang Tungsten Industry Co., Ltd. [Ganzhou Tejing Tungsten & Molybdenum Co., Ltd. (GZTJ)] Ganzhou Huaxing Tungsten Products Co., Ltd. [Jiangxi Tungsten Industry Group Co., Ltd. (JWYX) [joint venture between China Minmetals and Jiangxi Rare Earth and Rare Metals Tungsten Group Corp. (JXTC)]] Ganzhou Non-ferrous Metals Smelting Co., Ltd. Ganzhou Seadragon W & Mo Co., Ltd. (Ganzhou Grand Sea W & Mo Group Co., Ltd.) Ganzhou Yuanchi New Material Co., Ltd.

GuangDong XiangLu Tungsten Co., Ltd. (Chaozhou Xianglu Tungsten Industry Co., Ltd.) H.C. Starck Jiangwu Tungsten Specialties (Ganzhou) Co., Ltd. [H.C. Starck GmbH and Jiangxi Rare Metals Tungsten Holdings Group Co., Ltd. (JXTC)] Hunan Chenzhou Mining Group Co., Ltd.

Hunan Chun-chang Non-ferrous Smelting & Concentrating Co., Ltd. Jiangxi Dayu Longxintai Tungsten Co., Ltd.

Jiangxi Yaosheng Tungsten Co., Ltd.

Langfang (Torch) Huaying Tungsten & Molybdenum Industry Co., Ltd.

Luoyang Mudu Tungsten & Molybdenum Technology Co., Ltd. Luoyang Yongzhuo Tungsten & Molybdenum Material Co., Ltd. Nanchang Cemented Carbide Limited Liability Company

Wendeng Zhengxing Tungsten Industry Co., Ltd.

Xiamen Tungsten Co., Ltd. (CXTC)

Xinhai Rendan Shaoguan Tungsten Co., Ltd.

Zhuzhou Cemented Carbide Group Co., Ltd.

[Hunan Nonferrous Metals Holding Group (HNG)] Zigong Cemented Carbide Co., Ltd. [Hunan Nonferrous Metals Holding Group (HNG)]

Country

United States Tungsten carbide

Plant type

producer that consumes concentrate

Location

Sheshan Village, Nanyang Industrial Zone, Shanghang County, Longyan, Fujian Province

Meilin Town, Gan County, Ganzhou, Jiangxi Province

Wu Town, Hengdong County, Hengyang, Hunan Province

Xinxiangxilu, Xiangxiang, Xiangtan, Hunan Province

Jiuli Township, Emeishan City, Leshan, Sichuan Province

Im Schleeke, Goslar, Lower Saxony

Churchgate, Mumbai, Maharashtra State

SDKC Unit, Verka, Amritsar, Punjab

Thane-Belapur, Mumbai, Maharashtra State

Rairangpur, Mayurbhanj District, Odisha State

Kirovgrad Hard Alloys Plant, Kirovgrad, Sverdlovskaya Oblast

Vladikavkaz, North Ossetia Republic

Dai Tu District, Thai Nguyen Province

Nhon Trach District, Dong Nai Province

Trang Bang District, TayNinh Province

Cailan Industrial Zone, Halong City, Quang Ninh Province

Tan Tien Industrial Zone, Vinh Bao District, Hai Phong

Cailan Industrial Zone, Halong City, Quang Ninh Province

Operator/owner

Fujian Ganmin Rare Metal Co., Ltd. [Jiangxi Rare Earth & Rare Metals Tungsten Group Corp. (JXTC)]

Ganzhou BESEEM Ferrotungsten Co., Ltd.

Ganzhou Jiangwu Ferrotungsten Co., Ltd. [Jiangxi Tungsten Industry Group Co., Ltd. (JWYX) [joint venture between China Minmetals and Jiangxi Rare Earth and Rare Metals Tungsten Group Corp. (JXTC)]]

Hunan Chuangda Metallurgy Group Co., Ltd.

Jiangxi Richsea New Material Co., Ltd. (Ganzhou Grand Sea W & Mo Group Co., Ltd.)

Minmetals (Hunan) Ferroalloys Co., Ltd.

Chuantou Emei Ferroalloy [Sichuan Chuantou Emei Ferroalloy (Group) Co., Ltd.]

Sinosteel Jilin Ferroalloy Corporation, Ltd.

Bharat Pulverising Mills Ltd.

Mehra Ferro-Alloys Pvt. Ltd.

Sunbel Alloys Co. of India Ltd.

Superb-Metal Alloys (Pvt.) Ltd.

Japan New Metals Co., Ltd.

JSC Hydrometallurg (Wolfram Company CJSC)

JSC Pobedit (Wolfram Company CJSC)

Global Tungsten & Powders Corp.

Kennametal, Inc. (previously ATI Alldyne)

Niagara Refining LLC (Buffalo Tungsten Inc.

and Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.)

Kennametal, Inc.

Uzbek Refractory and Heat-Resistant Metals (OJSC “UzKTJM”)

Nui Phao Mining Company Ltd. and H.C. Starck GmbH

Sanher Tungsten Vietnam Co., Ltd.

Tejing (Vietnam) Tungsten Co., Ltd.

Vietnam Youngsun Tungsten Industry Co., Ltd.

ATC Ferrotungsten [Asia Tungsten Products Vietnam Ltd. (ATC)]

Vietnam Youngsun Tungsten Industry Co., Ltd.

The international community, through a multistakeholder process, which included the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and the UN GoE, has responded by developing voluntary due diligence guidance for minerals from conflict-affected and high-risk areas. This guidance helps companies avoid inadvertently contributing to conflict and human rights abuses in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Great Lakes Region of Africa (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2013, p. 3). The United States responded to the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo by enacting Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act) (Pub. L. 111–203, 124 Stat. 1376–2223) on July 21, 2010, which requires companies that file annual reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to publicly disclose due diligence measures to determine if 3TG minerals were sourced from the Democratic Republic of the Congo or an adjoining country (defined as a country that shares an internationally recognized border with the Democratic Republic of Congo), and whether these minerals benefitted armed groups or abusive armed forces within the Africa Great Lakes Region. If the minerals are “necessary to the functionality or production of a product” manufactured by those firms, then businesses must undertake a “country of origin” inquiry to determine their source. If the minerals are, or are suspected to be, sourced from countries specified in the Dodd-Frank Act, then firms must conduct due diligence on their supply chains in conformance with internationally accepted frameworks, such as OECD’s guidance (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 2010, p. 842; 2014).

Under Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Act, companies must file a specialized disclosure form (SD Form) with the SEC that includes their findings and the opinion of an independent auditor indicating whether or not any 3TG minerals used in their products and components are sourced from countries specified in the Dodd-Frank Act. If a company determines that their products or components include 3TG minerals from any of these countries, it is required to trace those minerals back to the mine of origin, often through a complex chainof-custody that may include multiple component manufacturers, processing facilities (smelters and refineries), intermediaries, shipping docks, and trade centers (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 2014). The first deadline for companies required to file an SD Form with the SEC was June 2, 2014.

Tungsten Processing Facility Data

Table 1 displays more than 50 mineral processing facilities that consume tungsten concentrates, and includes available data regarding the name, location, processing plant type, and ownership. The USGS, however, does not have complete data on the source of origin of the concentrates used by these processing plants and therefore cannot verify whether these facilities consumed concentrates from either conflict-affected and high-risk areas, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, or an adjoining country. The information in this table represents plants that could have processed tungsten concentrates in 2013–14. The table does not include plants that only process recycled materials or that only process downstream materials made from concentrates and (or) scrap.

The data were evaluated and compiled by the USGS National Minerals Information Center from sources that include companies, foreign governments, industry analysts, industry associations, inter-governmental organizations, non-governmental organizations, and trade journals. While every attempt was made to include all concentrate-consuming plants, some plants were not listed. For example, information was not available on all tungsten processing plants in China, and Brazil is thought to produce ferrotungsten, but information on specific plants could not be confirmed.

References Cited

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), 2013, OECD due diligence guidance for responsible supply chains of minerals from conflict-affected and high-risk areas (Second edition): Paris, OECD, 118 p. [Also available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264185050-en.]

U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), 2012, Report to Congressional committees—Conflict minerals disclosure rule— SEC’s actions and stakeholder-developed initiatives: Washington, D.C., U.S. GAO, Report GAO-12-763, 45 p. [Also available at http://www.gao.gov/assets/600/592458.pdf.]

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), 2010, One Hundred Eleventh Congress of the United States of America— Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act: Washington, D.C., U.S. SEC, 848 p. (Accessed June 7, 2013, at: http://www.sec.gov/about/laws/wallstreet reform-cpa.pdf.)

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), 2014, Fact Sheet— Disclosing the use of conflict minerals: Washington, D.C., U.S. SEC, accessed July 3, 2014, at http://www.sec.gov/News/Article/Detail/Article/1365171562058.

United Nations Security Council, 2014, Letter dated 22 January 2014 from the coordinator of the Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo addressed to the President of the Security Council: New York, United Nations Security Council, no. 14-21515, 277 p. [Also available at http:// www.securitycouncilreport.org/atf/cf/%7B65BFCF9B-6D27-4E9C-8CD3-CF6E4FF96FF9%7D/s_2014_42.pdf.]

Information Contacts

Steven D. Textoris Chief, Global Minerals Analysis Section National Minerals Information Center

991 National Center Reston, VA 20192 183.84 stextoris@usgs.gov http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals

Omayra Bermúdez-Lugo Country Specialist—West Africa, Angola, Central African Republic, Namibia, and The Indian Ocean Islands Global Minerals Analysis Section National Minerals Information Center, U.S. Geological Survey obermude@usgs.gov

Kim B. Shedd Mineral Commodity Specialist—Cobalt and Tungsten Mineral Commodities Section National Minerals Information Center, U.S. Geological Survey kshedd@usgs.gov

Donald I. Bleiwas Physical Scientist Global Minerals Analysis Section National Minerals Information Center, U.S. Geological Survey bleiwas@usgs.gov

Thomas R. Yager Country Specialist—East and Southern Africa Global Minerals Analysis Section National Minerals Information Center, U.S. Geological Survey tyager@usgs.gov

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