On Nov. 17, Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner landed for the first time at Washington's Dulles International Airport. Just three days later, the town of Goma, the main mineral trading hub in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, temporarily fell to rebels in the latest chapter of a brutal 15-year war.

While the now-beleaguered Dreamliner was never likely to land at Goma's dilapidated airport, there is a disturbing link between the aircraft, Congo's mineral-rich eastern provinces and Washington, D.C.

The metals found in Congo's lucrative mines -- tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold -- are used to make jet engine parts, as well as cellphones, computers and jewelry.

Armed groups in eastern Congo have made a fortune by controlling mines and trading routes, from where minerals are sold into international supply chains and then to American manufacturers. For more than a decade, profits from the minerals trade have helped warring parties fund a fight that has killed more than 5 million people.

In 2010, Congress set out to change this by passing Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Act. The conflict minerals provision requires U.S.-listed companies that use tin, tantalum, tungsten or gold to carry out checks on their supply chains -- known as due diligence -- to determine if their purchases are fueling conflict in Congo, and to publicly report their findings. Currently, the world's major airline manufacturers do not typically disclose this information.

In August, after a 16-month delay largely caused by aggressive industry lobbying to weaken and put off the law's implementation, the Securities and Exchange Commission published the final rule for Section 1502.

Now efforts to address the conflict minerals trade are under attack again. The Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers and the Business Roundtable have filed a lawsuit against the SEC to overturn the conflict minerals rule. A cruel twist of fate saw the trio issue their specific concerns to the SEC in Washington just a few days after the first Dreamliner landed at Dulles and hours after Goma fell to the rebels.

Boeing, which has a seat on NAM's board and whose representative is the executive committee chair of the Business Roundtable, appears to be at the forefront of the fight to overturn the rule.

Throughout the rule-making period for Section 1502, Boeing attended 10 meetings with representatives of the SEC -- more than any other company. Most of the meetings took place alongside members of NAM and the Chamber of Commerce.

In comments submitted to the SEC, Boeing indicated that the final rule on 1502 would be too costly and burdensome to comply with, given "the complexity of modern supply chains."

As the world's largest aerospace company, Boeing's influence within the industry -- let alone over its own supply chain -- is considerable. Boeing's attempt to kill Section 1502 through anonymous corporate lobby groups is misguided and irresponsible.

Industry associations are driven by their members. Companies that are members of the chamber, NAM or the Business Roundtable and support legal action against 1502 should come clean and say so publicly. Firms that disagree should issue statements distancing themselves from the lawsuit. Remaining silent can only be read as support for the lawsuit -- and is tantamount to supporting the gruesome conflict in eastern Congo.

Tungsten Manufacturer & Supplier: Chinatungsten Online - http://www.chinatungsten.com
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Tie breaker fish off delivers win to Florida pro

Rich Howes of Oviedo, Fla. beat another Florida angler Daniel Lanier in the two-man fish off after the anglers tied on Saturday with 47-2 for three days of fishing in the Bassmaster Southern Open on Lake Toho near Kissimmee. Howes implemented a pattern of punching a Gambler BB Cricket and a Bitter Bug behind 1 1/2-ounce tungsten bullet weights.

Lanier led on day one, Howes led on day two and they tied on day three before battling it out in a half-day shootout on Sunday for the $10,000 cash and Triton Boat prize package.

Tungsten Manufacturer & Supplier: Chinatungsten Online - http://www.chinatungsten.com
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Forevermetals, a Tungsten ring retailer is offering a discount code to help customers with their Valentine’s Day purchases. From February 4th until February 13th a discount code for 20% off can be added to the shopping cart to reflect special savings. The coupon code love20 is being offered to help ease the expense of purchasing Valentine’s Day gifts for the special people on their lives. The discount can be used to purchase any in stock tungsten wedding rings, Ceramic rings, watches and pendants. The coupon code cannot be applied to custom orders or specialized engravings.

Forever Metals has one of the largest, most unique collections of tungsten rings and wedding bands on the internet. Collections include the popular Celtic collection, colored tungsten consisting of black and gold and an assortment of inlays consisting of redwood, abalone shell and carbon fiber. Forever Metals also manufactures a large collection of classic wedding bands to accommodate both men and women. Along with customers being able to shop the in stock rings that are available for immediate shipment the customization option is always available. Gary Camphausen, owner of Forever Metals, believes that allowing customers to customize rings will add a special touch to the rings they plan to wear for the rest of their lives. In the past couple of years tungsten carbide has been gaining popularity due to more customers learning about the strength and durability of the metal over the traditional gold and platinum.

Forever Metals encourages shoppers to buy with confidence when choosing tungsten carbide. The metal is long lasting and comes in many different price points to accommodate almost every shopper. The large, ever growing collection of rings, will also grab virtually everyone’s attention.

Tungsten Jewellery Manufacturer & Supplier: Chinatungsten Online - http://www.tungsten-jewellery.com
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The Conflict Minerals Rule (Rule) requires SEC reporting companies to undertake diligence and then report their use of certain minerals. The Rule applies to all SEC reporting companies that manufacture or contract to manufacture products containing any of the four “conflict minerals” – gold, tantalum, tin and tungsten.  Conflict minerals are found in countless electronic and industrial products. All industries – including public utilities, energy and power companies – are covered by the Rule, and companies must consider what diligence and reporting obligations apply to them and their operations.

Although many in the power industry might expect that they would be outside of the scope of this Rule, there are circumstances in which public utilities, energy and power companies could be deemed to be “manufacturers” or “contract manufacturers” under the Rule and therefore subject to it.   

Note: the first reporting period under the Rule is calendar year 2013, so companies should commence a process right away to determine the degree to which (if any) the new Rule applies to them.  A company may have only a few products that are covered, but because of the possible scope and cost of diligence, conflict minerals (gold, tantalum, tin and tungsten) compliance should be considered sooner rather than later.

Failure to comply with the Rule could have serious business and legal consequences. The Rule does not ban or prohibit the use of conflict minerals.  But, customer and activist pressure about the use of conflict minerals has already created quite a stir in many industries. It is important to note that the failure of a reporting company to make a required filing could render it ineligible for S-3 treatment.  That ineligibility could be significant in accessing the capital markets.

As a first step, a public utility, energy or power company should consider:

    Whether its business involves the sale or lease of any product? (for example, smart meters, demand management/energy efficiency devices, power generators, electrical appliances).
    Whether those products are purchased off-the-shelf for resale or whether that company has any input into their manufacture?

The SEC did not provide much guidance on whether an item is a “product” or whether a company will be deemed to be a “manufacturer.” And, although those seem like straight-forward questions, answering them for purposes of the Rule may require detailed and reasoned analysis.
 

Tungsten Manufacturer & Supplier: Chinatungsten Online - http://www.chinatungsten.com
Tel.: 86 592 5129696; Fax: 86 592 5129797
Email: sales@chinatungsten.com
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