Illegal mining of gold (Au), tantalum (Ta), tungsten (W), cobalt (Co), and tin (Sn) from the Democratic Republic of Congo or adjoining countries (“DRC region”) is contributing to war and human rights atrocities in the region. These metals are commonly referred to as “conflict minerals”.
Altera supports the effort to end these atrocities, and we have notified our suppliers of the need to make commercially reasonable efforts to ensure that metals derived from the DRC region are properly disclosed to Altera.
On April 8th 2011, the SEC indicated in a posting on its website that the rule for Conflict Minerals is planned for the August to December 2011 timeframe. The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) reports that the SEC would not meet the April 15 deadline. In an earlier posting to the SEC Website, the SEC stated: Some of the Dodd-Frank Act's provisions are not effective until the SEC adopts regulations; of these, some include dates by which the SEC must act, and others are silent in this regard. In these areas, the SEC considers matters with specified dates as an indication of Congressional priorities and will accordingly propose and adopt rules in these areas first. The SEC expects to adopt all rules with specified dates by July 21, 2011 (one year from enactment). SEC Commissioner Mary Schapiro stated on April 8th at a conference for business editors that she had met with a broad cross section of business (including Apple, HP, and Motorola Solutions) and public interest groups regarding the conflict minerals rule and that the final rule would reflect both "business and humanitarian concerns."
As a result, clarification is still needed regarding when the final conflict minerals rule will be issued, and when companies will have to implement the rule.
