Conflict minerals (3TG): Mining production, applications and recycling

The growing public awareness of conflict minerals used in consumer electronics and various other devices (e.g. GPS in vehicles, medical equipment, airplane equipment and instruments, etc.) is accompanied by increasing regulatory obligations for companies affected by different laws and certification standards e. g. Dodd Frank Act section 1502, the ICGLR Regional Certification, the OECD Due Diligence Guidance or the planned EU Certification regulation. The so called conflicts minerals are natural mineral resources such as tin, tantalum, tungsten and Gold (3TG) that are critical resources for the electronic and automotive industries but also for other industries (aviation, medical equipment, etc.). Extraction of the 3TGs is widespread and includes primary industrial mining and artisanal mining as well as recycling. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.