There are grounds for optimism that the Dodd Frank Act will contribute to the Congressional objective of promoting peace and security in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Section 1502 of the 2010 US Dodd-Frank Act is lauded by its advocates as a progressive regulatory framework which will help prevent company complicity in a vicious cycle of mineral-fuelled conflict in eastern DRC. Critics have derided Section 1502 as an unworkable burden on business and claimed that it will harm local livelihoods in one of the world's most underdeveloped regions. Whatever the intended - and unintended - consequences of the groundbreaking legislation, Section 1502 will introduce significant additional compliance costs. Given that the minerals covered under the Act feed into a wide array of consumer goods from mobile phones, to jewellery and to coffee machines, the legislation is important to consumers as well.

There are concerns that Section 1502 will not be effective in stemming the flow of mineral revenues to armed groups, given widespread cross-border smuggling into states with a weak regulatory framework (such as Rwanda and Burundi) and into countries not covered by the legislation (such as Kenya). The prevalence of endemic corruption in the region and the massive technical challenge of ensuring effective traceability policies may also mean mineral revenues continue to perpetuate conflict.

In addition, the brief November 2012 capture of Goma (the capital of North Kivu and a regional trade hub) by the M23 rebel group, and the continuing presence of the insurgents in the region, will make it even more difficult for companies to source minerals from eastern DRC. With the M23 rebels threatening to expand their campaign and even march on Kinshasa, the extremely uncertain outlook could make responsible mineral sourcing from large parts of North Kivu unviable for the foreseeable future.

Although the Dodd-Frank Act was passed in 2010, it took the US Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) until August 2012 to publish its controversial final rules implementing the legislation. With the Act due to come into force from January 1 2013, an estimated 6,000 companies listed with the SEC will need to be transparent about the source of columbite-tantalite (or 'coltan'), cassiterite, wolframite, gold and their derivatives (namely tantalum, tin and tungsten) used in their products and manufacturing processes.

While it will not become illegal for the affected companies to use minerals which perpetuate conflict in DRC, the reputational damage of making such a disclosure in annual reports due from May 31, 2014, should act as a significant deterrent. As a result, the transparency requirements will cascade down supply chains from US-listed companies to suppliers across the world.

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M23 rebels in DR Congo have threatened to march to the capital and depose the government. UN reports confirm that rebels receive support from key US allies in the region, and Washington's role in the conflict has become difficult to ignore.

Instability, lawlessness and violence are nothing new to those who live in the troubled eastern regions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. An estimated 6.9 million Congolese have perished since 1996 in a spate of ceaseless military conflicts that have long gripped this severely-overlooked and underreported region. In late November 2012, members of the M23 rebel group invaded and took control of Goma, a strategic provincial capital in North Kivu state with a population of 1 million people, with the declared purpose of marching to the nation’s capital, Kinshasa, to depose the ruling government.

M23's president, Jean Marie Runiga, later agreed to withdraw only if the ruling President Joseph Kabila listened to the group's grievances and adhered to their demands. Rebel leaders have threatened to abandon peace talks unless Kinshasa signs an official ceasefire, a demand the government dismissed as unnecessary.

Kinshasa called on M23 to respect previous agreements to withdraw 20km outside of Goma in a move to prevent the region falling back into war after two decades of conflict, fought largely over the DRC’s vast wealth of tungsten,copper, cobalt diamonds, gold and coltan.

The United Nation’s peacekeeping mission in DR Congo has come under fire for allowing M23 to take Goma without firing a single shot, despite the presence of 19,000 UN troops in the country. The UN’s Congo mission is its largest and most expensive peacekeeping operation, costing over US$1 billion a year. UN forces recently announced they would introduce the use of surveillance drones over the DRC, in addition to imposing a travel ban and asset freeze on M23 leader Jean-Marie Runiga and Lt. Col. Eric Badege.

A confidential 44-page report issued by a United Nations panel accused the governments of neighboring Rwanda and Uganda of supporting M23 with weapons, ammunition and Rwandan military personnel. Despite both nations denying these accusations, the governments of the United States, Britain, Germany and the Netherlands have publicly suspended military aid and developmental assistance to Rwanda. The governments of both Rwanda and Uganda, led by President Paul Kagame and President Yoweri Museveni respectively, have long been staunch American allies and the recipients of millions in military aid.

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Arthur R. Segal, age 101, passed away at 9:50 a.m. Saturday (January 12, 2013) in Memorial Hospital & Health Care Center in Jasper.

He was born June 30, 1911 at Kansas City, Missouri to Henry and Ada (Bennett) Segal. He married Mildred “Millie” Hebrank October 25, 1935 in the Evangelical Church in Highland, Illinois. She preceded him in death March 14, 2011.

After high school, Arthur served his apprenticeship training at the United States Radiator Corporation and then as an engineering draftsman at the Laclede Steel Company at Alton, IL. He saved most of his earning so that he could attend college.

In 1942, Arthur started his own company, North American Products Corporation, designing and manufacturing the first mechanically held, solid carbide blades for the high-speed machining of metals. At the time, the development of the new cutting tool metal known as Tungsten Carbide, was at the leading edge of industrial technology and was of high importance for the nation’s war effort. Arthur worked closely with Phillip McKenna, who had been an associate at Kearney and Trecker, and who later founded the Kennametal Corporation.

After the war, Arthur began experimenting with the design and manufacturing of tools for machining materials other than metals. This resulted in the development of the first Tungsten Carbide circular saw blade, a product which would rapidly replace the use of solid steel blades due to their long production life and increased accuracy. Mr. Segal developed the first carbide tipped saw blades for cutting wood, hard plastics and plastic laminates and he held patents on many of the basic carbide tipped tool designs now commonly used in industrial production.

While the company initially grew on the basis of its innovative tooling designs, North American Products began opening carbide tool sharpening and sales divisions in many stated and eventually, in foreign countries. The company’s first tool sharpening division was located in Jasper, IN in 1957, and the company moved its headquarters and manufacturing facilities to Jasper in 1959.

Along with growing and operating the business, Arthur wrote technical articles for various industrial and scientific publications. He also presented papers and seminars at numerous universities regarding the design, machining and manufacturing of Tungsten Carbide cutting tools.

He served as a director of the Wood Machinery Manufacturing Associations (WMMA), and also as a director for the associations industrial Fair Board. He directed the association’s noise control research program in coordination with Wylie Research Laboratories in Huntsville, AL. Arthur also represented the association in regard to product liability legislation in Washington D.C. In 1966, he was a U.S. representative to the United Nations Technical Industrial Production Conference in Vienna, Austria.

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As Asian and Western countries make giant strides in mobile technology, there are a number of African techpreneurs who feel the continent has the potential to make its own original devices. Given the dominance of imported gadgets, the challenges for home-grown devices are real yet innovators still have hope.

Let us ponder this scenario: Apple is a big brand in America, while Samsung and Huawei are highly recognised in their respective continents. In Africa, we are yet to stand tall with devices engineered here for now. But one notable observation is that Africa is a main source of some rare precious minerals that are important in the manufacture of the devices.

The Democratic Republic of Congo alone supplies almost 70 per cent of the world’s tantalum metal which is an ingredient in all phones. The country has substantial reserves of columbite-tantalite or coltan, cassiterite, wolframite and gold. Coltan is the ore from which tantalum is extracted, while cassiterite produces tin.

Tantalum is a vital metal in the manufacture of compact and high performance capacitors found in electronic gadgets like mobile phones, laptops, tablets and gaming consoles.

Wolframite is the metal ore for tungsten used in vibration circuits of mobile phones.

Tin is a major ingredient in solder which is commonly used on electronic circuit boards. Gold is also present in some electronic products.

It is in the DRC that we find one of the up-coming techpreneur with ambitions of putting African home-grown devices on the tech-map. Verone Mankou, a Congolese entrepreneur has smartphones and tablets engineered in Congo. His tech-startup, VMK, boasts of a flagship tablet called Way-C and a smartphone called elikia.

VMK is derived from Vumbuka which is a word in Congo that captures the phrase ‘wake up’. Could it be a wake-up call for Africa to come up with home-grown mobile devices?

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ForeverMetals.com, the leading retailer of wedding bands online, is proud to inform that they now have a complete line of white tungsten wedding rings both for men and women. Even if tungsten rings are relatively renowned and make up roughly one third of all men’s wedding rings traded in US alone, there are a few inherent issues regarding this superb metal. This metal is inclined to be a little grayer in color, which is far from silver, platinum and palladium when it comes to appearance. There are many clients who wish their rings made from tungsten carbide could have a similar color as platinum and white gold. Now with advances in technology this has been made possible. Soon to be couples are drawn to the stunning white metal appearance of platinum which white tungsten has, according to Forever Metals.

A lot of couples yearn for their engagement ring or wedding band to seem like white gold or platinum. With white tungsten, you can have the lavish appearance of platinum, at a portion of the cost. Unlike the usual way of plating, this extraordinary procedure will not wear down. White Tungsten is an ideal choice for couples seeking the traditional look of precious metals while having the durability of tungsten carbide.

Forever Metals offers one of the largest collections of tungsten carbide rings. At Forever Metals, they strive to give the best service for their customer to make their buying experience informative and hassle free. Along with offering the best products and services, Forever Metals also provides the affordable prices.

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Tungsten is an element. It its pure form, it is a soft light grey or whitish metal. It has a number of practical uses, both in its pure form and as an alloy. However, tungsten is typically not found in pure form; it is instead processed from minerals, usually wolframite or scheelite. Although making a completely positive identification of a mineral is difficult without professional experience, these particular minerals have many properties that anyone can examine to determine whether a specimen is likely one of them.

Instructions

1
Examine the mineral. Wolframite ranges from black or greyish black to brown, is opaque and is slightly metallic. Scheelite is more varied; it can be tan to dark brown, golden to pale yellow, brownish yellow, reddish yellow, greenish, colorless or white. Its crystals can be transparent or opaque, and they have a shiny or glassy appearance.

2
Rub the mineral against a streak plate, a piece of plain white unglazed porcelain. Wolframite leaves a reddish brown color on a streak plate. Scheelite makes a white streak, which may be difficult to see.

3
Scratch the mineral with the steel nail, which has a Mohs hardness of about 5. (The Mohs scale measures the hardness of minerals relative to one another.) Wolframite and sheelite each have a Mohs hardness of 4.5, so the nail will leave a mark on either.

4
Examine the other minerals that may have formed on your specimen. Wolframite often develops with topaz and quartz. Scheelite often develops with tremolite, tourmaline, topaz, vesuvianite, cassiterite, fluorite, diopside and apatite. In addition, wolframite and scheelite are often found together.

5
Measure the crystal's specific gravity -- its weight in comparison with its volume. This measurement can be taken in many ways, but all require special equipment or calculations for accuracy. However, this is a good way to identify minerals. The specific gravity of wolframite is 7.40 grams per cubic centimeter. The specific gravity of scheelite is 6.01 grams per cubic centimeter. If you do not have access to such equipment, heft the sample in your palm. Both minerals should feel fairly heavy for their size.

6
Place a magnet on a mineral thought to be wolframite. Wolframite contains iron, making it slightly metallic.

7
Shine a UV light on a mineral thought to be scheelite. Scheelite fluoresces bright white-blue under a UV light if it is very pure, and creamy yellow if it contains molybdenum.

8
Drip a small amount of diluted hydrochloric acid on the specimen. If it is scheelite, the acid will decompose it into a yellow powder.

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Until the 1990s, titanium and tungsten were not on the market for general consumers, but since then have gained in popularity. When shopping for wedding bands today, there are many choices including various carats of white and yellow gold, platinum and silver. Titanium and tungsten are often confused since they are both hard metals, but there are many ways in which these two metals are distinct.

Hardness
Though titanium and tungsten are both very hard and durable metals, tungsten alloy is harder. The hardest form of tungsten carbide is harder than titanium alloys and can only be scratched by diamonds. Their different hardness makes a difference in engraving and resizing. Titanium can be resized and engraved, whereas tungsten is too hard for this.

Color
Tungsten carbide is usually offered in a black anodization coat only, but titanium is made in either silver/gray or black.

Durability and Allergic Properties
Many people may believe in the myth that titanium jewelry is indestructible, but though it is durable, it is by no means indestructible, and the same goes for tungsten. If a titanium wedding band should undergo extreme pressure such as being smashed in the door of a car, it could bend out of shape. A tungsten wedding band may not withstand being smashed under extreme pressure either, but instead of bending it would shatter into many pieces, which can make it a hazard.

As far as allergies to these metals, titanium is safe, but cobalt when used in tungsten carbide jewelry can cause allergic reactions in some people.

Pricing and Weight
Tungsten wedding bands are usually more expensive than titanium because of the manufacturing process. The equipment for this process is more expensive because the tungsten carbide needs to be in a vacuum or hydrogen environment that is at least 6,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

When browsing for wedding bands, keep in mind too that titanium, due to its lower density, is lighter than stainless steel, and tungsten carbide is much heavier than stainless steel.

Origins
According to Gopal S. Uphadhyaya, author of "Cemented Tungsten Carbides: Production, Properties and Testing," cemented carbides (hard metals) were introduced to the market in 1927 in Germany. The majority of the world's tungsten reserves are in China (approximately 85 percent). But there are also some smaller reserves in Korea, Russia and the state of Colorado in the United States. Almost half of the world's titanium comes from South Africa, according to the U.S Geological Survey Mineral Commodity Summaries. The other half comes mostly from Australia, Canada and the Ukraine.

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When it is time to begin shopping for wedding rings, you and your soon-to-be spouse want it to be perfect. These are the rings you will wear for the rest of your lives, and there are so many options to choose from. In more traditional settings, you have gold, platinum and white gold. These options are often pricey and easily damaged. More recently, titanium and tungsten carbide have become more popular options for couples looking for a more long-lasting effect. With the more durable tungsten carbide ring, couples have seen some safety issues that may not be seen with more traditional options.

Emergency Situations
The tungsten carbide ring cannot be removed in an emergency situation with traditional ring cutters. It can be removed by emergency personnel by using a tool more similar to a vice grip. In emergency situations when the ring must be removed for the purposes of treatment or stopping further injury from occurring, it must be cracked off the wearer’s finger. This would destroy the ring by breaking the ring into pieces and may cause injury to the wearer. The tungsten carbide ring registers between 8 and 9 on the Mohs hardness scale. Because of these factors, it also cannot be resized in a traditional manner.

Skin Reactions
Tungsten carbide rings can cause an allergic reaction on the skin. These rings are made by combining the tungsten with another metal. Most often, the other metal is a nickel or cobalt blend. This hardens the ring and prevents many of the scratches that are common on softer metals. This is important because the cobalt blend can cause allergic reactions when worn for long periods of time. The skin cells and sweat can cause oxidation, and skin and ring discoloration. If you have sensitive skin, you’ll want to make sure that you check the metal blend. Cobalt is a little less expensive, but nickel is entirely hypoallergenic and does not suffer from oxidation.

Injury from Accidents
Tungsten carbide rings can be caught in industrial settings. It is rarely advisable to wear jewelry in warehouse, automotive, construction or manufacturing industries; however, tungsten carbide rings are particularly dangerous. Many pieces of jewelry will bend or break when pressure is put on them from machines or other areas. If the pulling occurs or the ring becomes caught, the ring will not break and may cause further injury to the person involved.

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When selecting a wedding band, carefully consider the metal used. Although wedding rings are traditionally made from gold, they can also be made from platinum, titanium, stainless steel and tungsten. A tungsten wedding band offers beauty, durability and affordability.

Identification
Tungsten wedding bands are made from a combination of tungsten metal and Carbide powder, which is heated to more than 6,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Although it is sturdy, it is also quite heavy.

Strength
According to the Perry Olsen website: “Tungsten jewelry is 4 times harder than titanium jewelry.” The website goes on to explain that a tungsten wedding band is scratch-proof and nearly impossible to destroy.

Appearance
Tungsten carbide naturally displays a smooth, shiny appearance. For added brilliance, it can be plated with gold for a two-tone effect or decorated with gemstones.

Care
Tungsten metal does not react with oxygen, so a tungsten band will never become dull, discolored or tarnished. Smudges can be wiped away with a soft cloth. Tungsten wedding bands should never be cleaned with harsh chemicals.

Cost
Tungsten carbide wedding rings are considerably less expensive than platinum and gold wedding bands. Moreover, they require little care and maintenance.

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Gold, platinum, stainless steel, titanium and tungsten carbide are some of the most popular materials used to create wedding bands. Tungsten carbide, a synthetic material, is one of the world's hardest materials. There are many advantages that tungsten carbide rings offer over rings made out of other materials. Tungsten carbide is formed when certain levels of carbon and tungsten are combined. Tungsten carbide rings can be associated with higher price tags simply because of high production costs. Tungsten carbide must be heated to temperatures exceeding 6,000 degrees Fahrenheit to be able to form the metal into ring form.

Gold
Gold is a very popular precious metal used in the creation of rings and wedding bands. Tungsten carbide is harder than gold. While gold offers a hardness rating of "3" on the Moh's metal hardness scale, tungsten carbide offers a "9" hardness rating out of 10. Gold is more ductile than tungsten carbide. Ductility refers to a material's ability to bend under pressure. Gold will bend and warp under pressure, unlike tungsten carbide, which does not bend under pressure. Tungsten carbide rings shatter under pressure. This property might be very attractive to a consumer who is concerned with a ring holding its shape. Tungsten carbide rings are generally cheaper than gold rings.

Platinum
Many rings and wedding bands are constructed out of platinum, which is also a precious metal. While platinum is harder than silver and gold, tungsten carbide is much harder than platinum. Platinum only offers a maximum hardness rating of around "4" on the Moh's hardness scale. Platinum is also very ductile; a ring made out of platinum will bend under high pressures. Platinum rings are some of the most expensive rings on the market, they are usually much more expensive than tungsten carbide rings.

Stainless Steel
Many rings are made from durable stainless steel. Stainless steel is one of the harder metals available but it is still not harder than tungsten carbide. Stainless steel offers a hardness value of "6" on the Moh's scale of hardness. Stainless steel is also more ductile than tungsten carbide. It might take quite a bit of pressure, but a stainless steel ring will still bend rather than shatter. Tungsten carbide rings are about 90 percent heavier than stainless steel rings. This might make it a more attractive choice for consumers in the market for a heavier ring. Stainless steel rings are usually relatively cheap, tungsten carbide rings are generally more expensive than stainless steel rings.

Titanium
Titanium is one of the toughest, hardest and most durable metals. Titanium is even a little harder than stainless steel ("6" hardness rating) but it is not harder than tungsten carbide. Just like with silver, gold, platinum and stainless steel, titanium is more ductile than tungsten carbide. Stainless steel rings are around 43 percent heavier than titanium rings, which mean tungsten carbide rings are considerably heavier than titanium rings. Basic titanium rings are linked with price tags that are similar to tungsten carbide ring price tags.

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