Motorola Solutions and AVX Corporation announced expansion of Solutions for Hope to the Province of North Kivu, the region in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) widely known for its susceptibility to conflicts.
The innovative Solutions for Hope platform will ensure that tantalum from the DRC supplied to Motorola Solutions and AVX Corporation will be obtained “conflict free”, without involvement of illegal armed groups. Tantalum is a material that is widely used in the production of certain capacitors for electronic products and is extracted from the mineral coltan, which is abundant in the DRC.
In compliance with the Dodd-Frank legislation, the tantalum from the MHI mines in Rubaya will go through a 4-step transparent supply chain to be fed into electronic products.
Despite the initial doubts of the local government about the project, it has granted its consent due to the expected economic boom and more local job opportunities. According to the multi-stakeholder PPA group the local government would get significant tax revenues from the project, that more people would be employed, and that this would spur more investment in North Kivu.
Diana Putman, USAID mission director for Democratic Republic of Congo said:
“The start-up of legitimate conflict-free mining in North Kivu is a significant milestone and supports USAID's long-term goal of establishing a more stable economic environment in eastern Congo that generates benefits for local populations and transparent revenue for the Congo’s government. These efforts demonstrate to the world that with the proper cooperation of governments, civil society and industry a truly conflict-free supply chain can be developed within some of the more historically troubled areas of the DRC. We applaud and support the efforts of companies that engage in conflict-free sourcing from the DRC.”
Willing King, deputy general manager - tantalum, AVX Corporation remarked: “AVX is dedicated to achieving the highest standards for conflict-free supply chains using innovative and reliable methods that preserve and protect human rights around the globe. AVX has been and will continue to be a corporate leader and partner to establish groundbreaking practices that set an example for other companies to reach the goal of a conflict-free supply chain without victimizing the innocent.”
Overall, this marks a milestone in the development of conflict-free mining, and it should be continued. As was the case with other conflict-free projects in Congo, the project will result in concrete benefits for miners and mining communities, as well as services provided by the Congolese government with their new revenues.
Photo: Continent of Riches