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Article

24 Feb 2015

Author:
SOMO

SOMO: EU’s Conflict minerals proposal must not be limited to four minerals

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The European Commission has set out to reduce the financing of armed groups through the sales of conflict minerals. But by focusing narrowly on the procurement of four minerals, their new regulation will have limited effect. New research by SOMO shows that dozens of different kinds of minerals are associated with conflicts worldwide. The researchers call for radical adjustments to the EU proposal. SOMO research shows that in 2013, conflicts that were associated with minerals occurred in 17 countries throughout Asia, Latin America, and Africa. In the conflict regions, a wide variety of minerals was produced, ranging from iron ore, zinc, sulfur, nickel and molybdenum to silver, jade, diamond, and many others. Copper was the mineral most frequently associated with conflicts.

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