AVX Corp. (NYSE: AVX), a manufacturer of advanced passive components and interconnect products, announced that as of December 2011, all of its Congolese tantalum raw material, powder and wire suppliers are fully compliant with the independently audited Conflict-Free Smelter Program.
AVX cites itself as among the industry’s first manufacturers to guarantee that all of its tantalum powder and wire come from conflict-free compliant smelters, in accordance with the principles of the Dodd-Frank legislation and current Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) guidelines. OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas provides management recommendations to help companies respect human rights and avoid contributing to conflict through their mineral or metal purchasing decisions and practices.
For the past ten years, AVX notes that it has had a policy of not using tantalum sourced from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) or any other area in which insurgents or similar groups benefit from the sale of minerals. Since 2007, AVX has actively participated in the industry-wide effort to eliminate “conflict minerals” from the supply chain, and in 2009, AVX joined the independently validated Conflict-Free Smelter (CFS) program.
In an effort to continue responsible sourcing, AVX also announced that it is participating in the Solutions for Hope pilot program. This program demonstrates that verifiably conflict-free tantalum material can be mined and shipped from the DRC to the benefit of the local population, while providing fair income to Congolese citizens, not insurgent groups. Based on a closed-pipe supply chain that operates in accordance with the OECD due diligence guidance for mining in areas of weak governance, Solutions for Hope incorporates the independently validated Conflict-Free Smelter (CFS) program.
The pilot initiative should prove that the closed supply chain is reliable, sustainable and expandable, and will allow the DRC to return as a supplier of responsibly sourced minerals to the tantalum industry. This program allows AVX to continue to work with multiple stakeholder partners, including major electronics companies such as Motorola Solutions, HP and Intel.
“As the leading supplier of tantalum capacitors, AVX knew it was our responsibility to help drive the Conflict-Free Smelter Program, and be the first in the industry to provide only conflict-free tantalum products," comments Bill Millman, tantalum divisional director of quality and technology at AVX. "This is another major step forward in AVX’s continuing efforts to keep conflict minerals out of the supply chain. AVX is proud to announce that we can now provide verifiable assurance to our customers that all AVX products contain only conflict-free tantalum.”
