Form SD ALERE INC.

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

FORM SD

 

 

Specialized Disclosure Report

 

 

ALERE INC.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)

 

 

 

Delaware		1-16789		04-3565120
(State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation or Organization)		(Commission File Number)		(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

51 Sawyer Road, Suite 200, Waltham, Massachusetts 02459

(Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code)

Douglas Barry, Associate General Counsel, (781) 647-3900

(Name and telephone number, including area code, of the person to contact in connection with this report.)

 

 

Check the appropriate box to indicate the rule pursuant to which this form is being filed, and provide the period to which the information in this form applies:

 

x	Rule 13p-1 under the Securities Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13p-1) for the reporting period from January 1 to December 31, 2015

 

 

 

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Section 1 – Conflict Minerals Disclosure

 

Item 1.01

Conflict Minerals Disclosure and Report

Conflict Minerals Disclosure

Alere Inc. has filed a Conflict Minerals Report as an exhibit to this Specialized Disclosure Report and posted a copy of the Conflict Minerals Report on its publicly available Internet website at http://www.alere.com/en/home/about/our-vision/corporate-responsibility/conflict-minerals.html.

 

Item 1.02

Exhibit

Alere Inc. has filed its Conflict Minerals Report as Exhibit 1.01 to this Specialized Disclosure Report.

Section 2 – Exhibits

 

Item 2.01

Exhibits

Exhibit 1.01 – Conflicts Minerals Report as required by Items 1.01 and 1.02 of this Form.

 

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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the duly authorized undersigned.

 

				ALERE INC.
Date: May 31, 2016				By:		/s/ Ellen Chiniara
						Ellen Chiniara
						Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer, and Secretary

 

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Exhibit 1.01

Alere Inc.

Conflict Minerals Report

For The Year Ended December 31, 2015

This Conflict Minerals Report of Alere Inc., including its consolidated subsidiaries (herein referred to as “Alere,” the “Company,” “we,” “us,” or “our”), for the year ended December 31, 2015 is presented to comply with Rule 13p-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “1934 Act”). The Rule was adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) to implement reporting and disclosure requirements related to conflict minerals as directed by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (the “Dodd-Frank Act”). The Rule imposes certain reporting obligations on SEC registrants whose manufactured products contain conflict minerals which are necessary to the functionality or production of their products. Conflict minerals are defined as cassiterite, columbite-tantalite, gold, wolframite and their derivatives, which are limited to tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold (the “Conflict Minerals”). These requirements apply to registrants whatever the geographic origin of the Conflict Minerals and whether or not they fund armed conflict.

If a registrant can establish that the relevant Conflict Minerals for the reporting year originated from sources other than the Democratic Republic of the Congo or an adjoining country (the “Covered Countries”), or from recycled and scrap sources, it must submit a Form SD for that year which describes its reasonable country of origin inquiry (“RCOI”).

If a registrant knows or has reason to believe that any of the relevant Conflict Minerals for the reporting year may have originated in the Covered Countries, then it must exercise due diligence on the Conflict Minerals’ source and chain of custody. The registrant must also submit a Conflict Minerals Report (“CMR”) for that year to the SEC that includes a description of its due diligence measures.

 

1.	Company and Products Overview

We deliver reliable and actionable health information through rapid diagnostic tests, resulting in better clinical and economic healthcare outcomes globally. Our high-performance diagnostics for infectious disease, cardiometabolic disease and toxicology are designed to meet the growing global demand for accurate, easy-to-use and cost-effective near-patient tests. Our goal is to make Alere products accessible to more people around the world, even those located in remote and resource-limited areas, by making them affordable and usable in any setting. By making critical clinical diagnostic information available to doctors and patients in an actionable timeframe, Alere products help streamline healthcare delivery and improve patient outcomes. Our principal executive offices are located at 51 Sawyer Road, Suite 200, Waltham, MA 02453.

Our products for which Conflict Minerals are necessary to their functionality or production (“Covered Products”) consist of the following:

 

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Infectious disease diagnostic products, including Alere Determine HIV-1/2 Ag/Ab Combo, used to identify HIV, Alere CD4 Analyzer, used to stage the progression of HIV, and Alere™ I, a rapid, instrument-based, isothermal system for the qualitative detection of infectious diseases;

 

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Cardiometabolic products, such as our various Alere Triage cardiovascular tests, used in the diagnosis and assessment of cardiovascular disease, our epoc® Blood Analysis System, the first wireless point of care solution for testing blood gas, electrolytes and metabolites at the bedside, and our Afinion Test System, which aids in the early detection of kidney disease often present in diabetic patients; and

 

•

Toxicology or drugs of abuse tests, such as our Alere Triage TOX Drug Screen panel and our Alere Triage MeterPro system used to detect the presence of many of illicit and prescription drugs.

Our exposure to Conflict Minerals arises primarily because most of the Covered Products contain electronic components, which can contain one or more Conflict Minerals.

 

2.	Supply Chain Overview

We rely upon our direct suppliers to provide information on the origin of the Conflict Minerals contained in components and materials supplied to us, including sources of Conflict Minerals that are supplied to them from their own upstream suppliers. We have adopted a Policy on Conflict Minerals, which is described below. Under that policy, we expressly state our expectation that our suppliers will perform similar due diligence on their own supply chains and provide their Conflict Minerals sourcing information to us. We have analyzed both our product components and the role that suppliers play throughout our manufacturing and product delivery processes. We defined the scope of our RCOI and Conflict Minerals due diligence by identifying and reaching out to our suppliers that provide components or engage in manufacturing activities that are reasonably likely to contain Conflict Minerals.

 

3.	Reasonable Country of Origin Inquiry

We conducted an analysis of our products by analyzing the materials lists of our operations to determine materials or components reasonably likely to contain Conflict Minerals and concluded that Conflict Minerals may be necessary to the functionality or production of the Covered Products. We then conducted our RCOI with respect to the suppliers of such materials through the use of the standard Conflict Minerals reporting templates developed jointly by the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition^® (EICC^®) and The Global e-Sustainability Initiative (GeSI), known as the Conflict-Free Sourcing Initiative (“CSFI”) or CFSI Reporting Template (the “Template”), and launched our RCOI survey to the pertinent suppliers beginning in March 2016. The Template was developed to facilitate disclosure and communication of information regarding smelters and refiners that provide material to a company’s supply chain. It includes questions regarding a company’s conflict-free policy, engagement with its direct suppliers and a listing of the smelters and refiners the company and its suppliers use. In addition, the Template contains questions about the origin of conflict minerals included in their products, as well as supplier due diligence.

 

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For 2015, we engaged the services of a consulting firm with supply chain expertise, including expertise in determining the sourcing of conflict minerals, to assist us with our RCOI.

We identified 60 suppliers for inclusion in our RCOI for 2015. We and our consulting firm contacted each supplier initially through e-mail and, for suppliers that either did not respond or that provided incomplete, inconsistent or unclear responses, through an escalating series of contacts, including additional e-mail messages and telephone calls. We received responses from 70% of our suppliers, a substantial improvement from the 45% response rate that we reported for 2014.

We also performed certain quality assurance procedures with respect to the data we received. Working with our consulting firm, we evaluated supplier responses for plausibility, consistence and gaps. If the consulting firm identified any of the following quality concerns, it automatically contacted the supplier for supplemental information:

 

•

one or more smelter or refiners were listed for an unused metal;

 

•

no smelter or refiner information was provided for a used metal, or an identified smelter or refiner was not a verified metal processor;

 

•

the supplier confirmed sourcing from the Covered Countries, but the smelters and refiners listed are not known to source from the region;

 

•

the supplier indicated that it had not received conflict minerals data for each metal from all relevant suppliers;

 

•

the supplier indicated it had not identified all of the smelters and refiners used for the products included in the declaration scope;

 

•

the supplier indicated it had not provided all applicable smelter and refiner information received; or

 

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the supplier indicated that 100% of the Conflict Minerals for products covered by the declaration originated from recycled or scrap sources, but one or more smelters or refiners listed are not known to be exclusive recyclers.

Of the responding suppliers, 76% indicated that one or more Conflict Minerals was necessary to the functionality or production of the products supplied to us. The responding suppliers provided us with information regarding 321 known and active smelters and refiners that they had identified as part of our supply chain for those Conflict Minerals. The responding suppliers also identified an additional 36 potential smelters and refiners that have not been verified, including certain companies believed to be inactive.

Based on the information we obtained through our RCOI, we concluded that we had reason to believe that some of the Conflict Minerals in our supply chain for 2015 were or may have been sourced from the Covered Countries. Accordingly, under Rule 13p-1 of the 1934 Act, we were required to perform due diligence on the source and chain of custody of such Conflict Minerals and prepare this Conflict Minerals Report to disclose the results of our efforts.

 

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4.	Design of Our Due Diligence Process

Our due diligence processes and efforts have been designed to conform with the five-step framework recommended by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (“OECD”) Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas (the “OECD Guidance”) and the related Supplements for gold and for tin, tantalum and tungsten.

 

5.	Due Diligence Measures Performed

Step 1. Establishment of Strong Management Systems

Our Conflict Minerals due diligence process includes: the development of a Policy on Conflict Minerals, which is posted on our website at www.alere.com under “Corporate Responsibility” (http://www.alere.com/en/home/about/our-vision/corporate-responsibility/conflict-minerals.html), the establishment of governance structures with cross-functional team members and senior executives, communication to, and engagement of, suppliers, due diligence compliance process and measurement, record keeping and escalation procedures.

Conflict Minerals Policy

Alere Inc. has adopted the following policy on Conflict Minerals:

ALERE INC.

POLICY ON CONFLICT MINERALS

In August 2012, Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Act was finalized with specific language relating to “conflict minerals,” which include tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold derived in The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) or surrounding countries. Some of the mining operations in the DRC are controlled by warring militias who are believed to finance armed conflict with profits from the sale of these minerals. This on-going conflict has been linked to human rights violations, labor abuses, and environmental destruction.

Alere is committed to the responsible sourcing of materials through compliance with the conflict mineral disclosure requirements. The new rules require companies with securities registered in the US that use conflict minerals in their products to determine whether those minerals originated in the DRC or surrounding countries, and disclose this annually on Form SD filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

While our supply chain is complex and tracing the source of minerals used in our products is a challenge, we are committed to complying with the new

 

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reporting requirements and we have implemented appropriate compliance measures. These include reasonable country of origin inquiries and additional supply chain due diligence that follows the framework of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. We expect our suppliers to perform similar due diligence on their own supply chains and to otherwise cooperate with us as necessary to support these efforts.

Conflict Minerals Compliance Team

Alere has established a system for complying with the applicable rules. We developed a Conflict Minerals Compliance Team, currently comprised of our Senior Vice President, Global Operations, our Vice President, Global Shared Service, our Group Operations Director and our Associate General Counsel. The Conflict Minerals Compliance Team reports directly to our Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President. The team established a worldwide compliance process consistent with the OECD due diligence framework and put into place an appropriate process to facilitate future compliance.

System of Controls and Transparency over Supply Chain

We have worked to identify upstream actors in our supply chain through the utilization of the Template. The Template facilitates the transfer of information through the supply chain regarding Conflict Mineral country of origin and smelters and refiners being utilized. The Template also identifies new smelters and refiners.

Supplier Engagement

With respect to the OECD requirement to strengthen engagement with suppliers, we have trained our relevant worldwide purchasing agents regarding conflict mineral reporting, and established a system to analyze and follow-up on supplier responses to our RCOI. These efforts, along with the work performed by our consultant, have allowed us to render the conclusions and statement annotated in this report.

We also introduced our relevant suppliers to our consulting firm’s Conflict Minerals Supplier Resources Center, an online educational tool designed to facilitate a deeper understanding of our Conflict Minerals compliance program and educate suppliers regarding the reasons for requesting information regarding Conflict Minerals.

Grievance Mechanism

Alere has established a Policy on Conflict Minerals, which is posted on our website. Alere also provides an ethics hotline to report any concerns about violations of Alere’s Code of Conduct and provides a mechanism for escalating any issues and concerns.

Maintenance of Records

Alere has established a documentation and record maintenance mechanism to ensure the retention of relevant documentation in a structured electronic database in accordance with our record retention policy.

 

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Step 2. Assessment of Risk in the Supply Chain

We compared the smelters and refiners identified by our suppliers against the list of facilities that have received a “DRC conflict free” designation from any of three internationally recognized certification programs: the CFSI Conflict-Free Smelter Program, the London Bullion Market Association Good Delivery Program and the Responsible Jewellery Council Chain-of-Custody Certification program.

Our consulting firm also conducted additional research, including consultation with industry and government associations and direct outreach to smelters and refiners to verify information provided by suppliers. We then identified a list of smelters and refiners for which there was reason to believe that they may be sourcing from the Covered Countries.

Step 3. Implementation of Strategies to Respond to Identified Risks

Alere has a risk management plan, through which the Conflict Minerals program is implemented, managed and monitored. As part of this year’s due diligence efforts, our consulting firm contacted smelters and refiners that have not been certified as “DRC conflict free” in order to assess their sourcing practices, including countries of origin and transfer, and due diligence or chain-of-custody procedures. This review included an evaluation of whether the identified smelters and refiners had documented, effective and communicated “conflict-free” policies in place, relevant accounting systems and traceability documentation.

In addition, as described above, we participate in the EICC-GeSI CFSI industry-wide initiative to disclose upstream actors in the supply chain. In addition, to ensure suppliers understand our expectations, we have posted our Policy on Conflict Minerals on our website. Alere will work with suppliers who are sourcing from non-conflict-free smelters to move towards using conflict-free smelters within a reasonable time frame. The time frame will be dependent on the criticality of the specific part and the availability of alternative suppliers.

Step 4. Independent Third-Party Audit

We do not have a direct relationship with Conflict Minerals smelters and refiners, nor do we perform direct audits of these entities that provide our supply chain with Conflict Minerals. We rely upon the industry (for example, EICC and CFSI) efforts to influence smelters and refiners to get audited and certified through CFSI’s Conflict-Free Smelter (“CFS”) program.

Step 5. Reporting on Due Diligence

Through the preparation and filing of this report, Alere has made a public report regarding its Conflict Minerals compliance program. This report is also available on our corporate website at http://www.alere.com/en/home/about/our-vision/corporate-responsibility/conflict-minerals.html. Alere will report annually on its Conflict Minerals compliance efforts as and to the extent required by Rule 13p-1 of the 1934 Act.

 

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5.	Due Diligence Results

To the extent reasonably determinable through our due diligence process as described above, we believe that the smelters and refiners that were used to process the Conflict Minerals for the Covered Products for 2015 included the 321 known and active smelters and refiners listed in Annex A, and potentially one or more of the 36 additional companies identified by our suppliers, which are listed in Annex B, but which we could not identify as known and active smelters or refiners and for which we have no additional sourcing information. Of the 321 known and active smelters and refiners identified by our suppliers, 223, or approximately 69%, have been certified as “DRC conflict free” by one or more of three internationally recognized programs: the CFSI Conflict-Free Smelter Program, the London Bullion Market Association Good Delivery Program and the Responsible Jewellery Council Chain-of-Custody Certification program. Twenty-eight of the 223 “DRC conflict free” smelters and refiners disclosed that their sources of Conflict Minerals included one or more of the Covered Countries. Of the 98 smelters and refiners not certified as “DRC conflict free” by one of these three internationally recognized programs, we were able to obtain country of origin information (including recycled or scrap sources) for the Conflict Minerals processed by 55 of them. Of those 55 smelters and refiners, only two indicated that they sourced from a list of counties that included the Covered Countries. For these two smelters and refiners, we did not receive any more detailed information about the source or chain of custody of the Conflict Minerals they obtained from the Covered Countries.

Accordingly, based on our due diligence process, we believe that, of the 321 known and active smelters and refiners in our Conflict Minerals supply chain for 2015, 276, or 86%, were either certified to be “DRC conflict free” by one or more internationally recognized certification programs or sourced their Conflict Minerals from countries other than the Covered Countries or from recycled or scrap materials. Further, of the 30 smelters and refiners that disclosed that they sourced Conflict Minerals from the Covered Countries, 28, or 93%, were certified to be “DRC conflict free” by one or more internationally recognized certification programs.

We believe that the countries of origin of the Conflict Minerals contained in the Covered Products for 2015 include the countries listed in Annex C. At this time, we are unable to form the basis for a reasonable belief as to which of the smelters and refiners named by our suppliers processed the specific Conflict Minerals that were necessary to the functionality or production of the Covered Products.

 

6.	Anticipated Future Actions

We intend to take the following steps to continue to improve our due diligence and further mitigate the risk that the necessary Conflict Minerals in our products could benefit armed groups in the DRC or adjoining countries:

 

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Enhance supplier communication and training to improve due diligence data accuracy and completion.

 

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Continue to influence additional smelters to obtain CFS status through our supply chain, where possible.

 

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Engage with suppliers and direct them to training resources to attempt to increase the response rate and improve the content of the supplier survey responses.

 

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Engage any of our suppliers found to be supplying us with Conflict Minerals from sources that support conflict in the Covered Countries to establish an alternative source of Conflict Minerals that does not support such conflict.

We plan to report on our progress with these efforts in any Forms SD or Conflict Minerals Reports that we may file in the future.

 

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Annex A

 

Metal		Official Smelter Name		Smelter Country		Certified Smelter
Gold		Advanced Chemical Company		United States		NO
Gold		Aida Chemical Industries Co., Ltd.		Japan		YES
Gold		Aktyubinsk Copper Company TOO		Kazakhstan		NO
Gold		Al Etihad Gold		United Arab Emirates		NO
Gold		Allgemeine Gold-und Silberscheideanstalt A.G.		Germany		YES
Gold		Almalyk Mining and Metallurgical Complex (AMMC)		Uzbekistan		YES
Gold		AngloGold Ashanti Córrego do Sítio Mineração		Brazil		YES
Gold		Argor-Heraeus SA		Switzerland		YES
Gold		Asahi Pretec Corporation		Japan		YES
Gold		Asahi Refining Canada Limited		Canada		YES
Gold		Asahi Refining USA Inc.		United States		YES
Gold		Asaka Riken Co., Ltd.		Japan		YES
Gold		Atasay Kuyumculuk Sanayi Ve Ticaret A.S.		Turkey		NO
Gold		Aurubis AG		Germany		YES
Gold		Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (Central Bank of the Philippines)		Philippines		YES
Gold		Bauer Walser AG		Germany		NO
Gold		Boliden AB		Sweden		YES
Gold		C. Hafner GmbH + Co. KG		Germany		YES
Gold		Caridad		Mexico		NO
Gold		CCR Refinery - Glencore Canada Corporation		Canada		YES
Gold		Cendres + Métaux SA		Switzerland		NO
Gold		Chimet S.p.A.		Italy		YES
Gold		Chugai Mining		Japan		NO
Gold		Codelco		Chile		NO
Gold		Daejin Indus Co., Ltd.		South Korea		NO
Gold		Daye Non-Ferrous Metals Mining Ltd.		China		NO
Gold		DODUCO GmbH		Germany		YES
Gold		Dowa		Japan		NO
Gold		DSC (Do Sung Corporation)		South Korea		NO
Gold		Eco-System Recycling Co., Ltd.		Japan		YES
Gold		Elemetal Refining, LLC		United States		YES
Gold		Emirates Gold DMCC		United Arab Emirates		NO
Gold		Faggi Enrico S.p.A.		Italy		NO
Gold		Fidelity Printers and Refiners Ltd.		Zimbabwe		NO
Gold		Gansu Seemine Material Hi-Tech Co Ltd		China		NO
Gold		Geib Refining Corporation		United States		NO
Gold		Guangdong Jinding Gold Limited		China		NO
Gold		Hangzhou Fuchunjiang Smelting Co., Ltd.		China		NO
Gold		Heimerle + Meule GmbH		Germany		YES
Gold		Heraeus Ltd. Hong Kong		China		YES
Gold		Heraeus Precious Metals GmbH & Co. KG		Germany		YES
Gold		Hunan Chenzhou Mining Co., Ltd.		China		NO
Gold		Hwasung CJ Co. Ltd		South Korea		NO

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Annex A

 

Metal		Official Smelter Name		Smelter Country		Certified Smelter
Gold		Inner Mongolia Qiankun Gold and Silver Refinery Share Company Limited		China		YES
Gold		Ishifuku Metal Industry Co., Ltd.		Japan		YES
Gold		Istanbul Gold Refinery		Turkey		YES
Gold		Japan Mint		Japan		YES
Gold		Jiangxi Copper Company Limited		China		YES
Gold		JSC Ekaterinburg Non-Ferrous Metal Processing Plant		Russia		YES
Gold		JSC Uralelectromed		Russia		YES
Gold		JX Nippon Mining & Metals Co., Ltd.		Japan		YES
Gold		Kaloti Precious Metals		United Arab Emirates		NO
Gold		Kazakhmys plc		Kazakhstan		NO
Gold		Kazzinc		Kazakhstan		YES
Gold		Kennecott Utah Copper LLC		United States		YES
Gold		KGHM Polska Miedź Spółka Akcyjna		Poland		NO
Gold		Kojima Chemicals Co., Ltd.		Japan		YES
Gold		Korea Metal Co. Ltd		South Korea		NO
Gold		Korea Zinc Co. Ltd.		South Korea		NO
Gold		Kyrgyzaltyn JSC		Kyrgyzstan		YES
Gold		L’ azurde Company For Jewelry		Saudi Arabia		NO
Gold		Lingbao Gold Company Ltd.		China		NO
Gold		Lingbao Jinyuan Tonghui Refinery Co. Ltd.		China		NO
Gold		LS-NIKKO Copper Inc.		South Korea		YES
Gold		Luo yang Zijin Yinhui Metal Smelt Co Ltd		China		NO
Gold		Materion		United States		YES
Gold		Matsuda Sangyo Co., Ltd.		Japan		YES
Gold		Metahub Industries Sdn. Bhd.		Malaysia		NO
Gold		Metalor Technologies (Hong Kong) Ltd.		China		YES
Gold		Metalor Technologies (Singapore) Pte., Ltd.		Singapore		YES
Gold		Metalor Technologies (Suzhou) Co Ltd		China		NO
Gold		Metalor Technologies SA		Switzerland		YES
Gold		Metalor USA Refining Corporation		United States		YES
Gold		METALÚRGICA MET-MEX PEÑOLES, S.A. DE C.V		Mexico		YES
Gold		Mitsubishi Materials Corporation		Japan		YES
Gold		Mitsui Mining & Smelting		Japan		YES
Gold		MMTC-PAMP India Pvt., Ltd.		India		YES
Gold		Morris and Watson		New Zealand		NO
Gold		Moscow Special Alloys Processing Plant		Russia		YES
Gold		Nadir Metal Rafineri San. Ve Tic. A.Ş.		Turkey		YES
Gold		Navoi Mining and Metallurgical Combinat		Uzbekistan		YES
Gold		Nihon Material Co., Ltd.		Japan		YES
Gold		Ögussa Österreichische Gold- und Silber-Scheideanstalt GmbH		Austria		YES
Gold		Ohura Precious Metal Industry Co., Ltd.		Japan		YES
Gold		OJSC “The Gulidov Krasnoyarsk Non-Ferrous Metals Plant” (OJSC Krastsvetmet)		Russia		YES
Gold		OJSC Kolyma Refinery		Russia		NO
Gold		OJSC Novosibirsk Refinery		Russia		YES
Gold		PAMP SA		Switzerland		YES
Gold		Penglai Penggang Gold Industry Co Ltd		China		NO
Gold		Prioksky Plant of Non-Ferrous Metals		Russia		YES

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Annex A

 

Metal		Official Smelter Name		Smelter Country		Certified Smelter
Gold		PT Aneka Tambang (Persero) Tbk		Indonesia		YES
Gold		PX PrŽcinox SA		Switzerland		YES
Gold		Rand Refinery (Pty) Ltd.		South Africa		YES
Gold		Republic Metals Corporation		United States		YES
Gold		Royal Canadian Mint		Canada		YES
Gold		Sabin Metal Corp.		United States		NO
Gold		Samduck Precious Metals		South Korea		NO
Gold		SAMWON METALS Corp.		South Korea		NO
Gold		SAXONIA Edelmetalle GmbH		Germany		NO
Gold		Schone Edelmetaal B.V.		Netherlands		YES
Gold		SEMPSA Joyería Platería SA		Spain		YES
Gold		Shandong Tiancheng Biological Gold Industrial Co., Ltd.		China		NO
Gold		Shandong Zhaojin Gold & Silver Refinery Co., Ltd.		China		YES
Gold		Sichuan Tianze Precious Metals Co., Ltd.		China		YES
Gold		Singway Technology Co., Ltd.		Taiwan		YES
Gold		So Accurate Group, Inc.		United States		NO
Gold		SOE Shyolkovsky Factory of Secondary Precious Metals		Russia		YES
Gold		Solar Applied Materials Technology Corp.		Taiwan		YES
Gold		Sudan Gold Refinery		Sudan		NO
Gold		Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Ltd.		Japan		YES
Gold		T.C.A S.p.A		Italy		YES
Gold		Tanaka Kikinzoku Kogyo K.K.		Japan		YES
Gold		The Great Wall Gold and Silver Refinery of China		China		YES
Gold		The Refinery of Shandong Gold Mining Co., Ltd.		China		YES
Gold		Tokuriki Honten Co., Ltd.		Japan		YES
Gold		TongLing Nonferrous Metals Group Holdings Co., Ltd.		China		NO
Gold		Torecom		South Korea		NO
Gold		Umicore Brasil Ltda.		Brazil		YES
Gold		Umicore Precious Metals Thailand		Thailand		YES
Gold		Umicore SA Business Unit Precious Metals Refining		Belgium		YES
Gold		United Precious Metal Refining, Inc.		United States		YES
Gold		Valcambi SA		Switzerland		YES
Gold		Western Australian Mint trading as The Perth Mint		Australia		YES
Gold		WIELAND Edelmetalle GmbH		Germany		NO
Gold		Yamamoto Precious Metal Co., Ltd.		Japan		YES
Gold		Yantai Guodasafina High-tech Environmental Refinery CO., Ltd.		China		NO
Gold		Yokohama Metal Co., Ltd.		Japan		YES
Gold		Yunnan Copper Industry Co Ltd		China		NO
Gold		Zhongyuan Gold Smelter of Zhongjin Gold Corporation		China		YES
Gold		Zijin Mining Group Co., Ltd. Gold Refinery		China		YES
Tantalum		Avon Specialty Metals Ltd		United Kingdom		NO
Tantalum		Changsha South Tantalum Niobium Co., Ltd.		China		YES
Tantalum		Conghua Tantalum and Niobium Smeltry		China		YES
Tantalum		D Block Metals, LLC		United States		YES
Tantalum		Duoluoshan		China		YES
Tantalum		E.S.R. Electronics		United States		NO
Tantalum		Exotech Inc.		United States		YES

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Annex A

 

Metal		Official Smelter Name		Smelter Country		Certified Smelter
Tantalum		F&X Electro-Materials Ltd.		China		YES
Tantalum		FIR Metals & Resource Ltd.		China		YES
Tantalum		Global Advanced Metals Aizu		Japan		YES
Tantalum		Global Advanced Metals Boyertown		United States		YES
Tantalum		Guangdong Zhiyuan New Material Co., Ltd.		China		YES
Tantalum		Guizhou Zhenhua Xinyun Technology Ltd., Kaili branch		China		NO
Tantalum		H.C. Starck Co., Ltd.		Thailand		YES
Tantalum		H.C. Starck GmbH Goslar		Germany		YES
Tantalum		H.C. Starck GmbH Laufenburg		Germany		YES
Tantalum		H.C. Starck Hermsdorf GmbH		Germany		YES
Tantalum		H.C. Starck Inc.		United States		YES
Tantalum		H.C. Starck Ltd.		Japan		YES
Tantalum		H.C. Starck Smelting GmbH & Co.KG		Germany		YES
Tantalum		Hengyang King Xing Lifeng New Materials Co., Ltd.		China		YES
Tantalum		Hi-Temp Specialty Metals, Inc.		United States		YES
Tantalum		Jiangxi Dinghai Tantalum & Niobium Co., Ltd		China		YES
Tantalum		Jiangxi Tuohong New Raw Material		China		NO
Tantalum		JiuJiang JinXin Nonferrous Metals Co., Ltd.		China		YES
Tantalum		Jiujiang Tanbre Co., Ltd.		China		YES
Tantalum		Jiujiang Zhongao Tantalum & Niobium Co., Ltd.		China		YES
Tantalum		KEMET Blue Metals		United States		YES
Tantalum		Kemet Blue Powder		United States		YES
Tantalum		King-Tan Tantalum Industry Ltd.		China		YES
Tantalum		LSM Brasil S.A.		Brazil		YES
Tantalum		Metallurgical Products India Pvt., Ltd.		India		YES
Tantalum		Mineração Taboca S.A.		Brazil		NO
Tantalum		Mitsui Mining & Smelting		Japan		YES
Tantalum		Molycorp Silmet A.S.		Estonia		YES
Tantalum		Ningxia Orient Tantalum Industry Co., Ltd.		China		YES
Tantalum		Plansee SE Liezen		Austria		YES
Tantalum		Plansee SE Reutte		Austria		YES
Tantalum		QuantumClean		United States		YES
Tantalum		Resind Indústria e Comércio Ltda.		Brazil		NO
Tantalum		RFH Tantalum Smeltry Co., Ltd.		China		YES
Tantalum		Solikamsk Magnesium Works OAO		Russia		YES
Tantalum		Taki Chemicals		Japan		YES
Tantalum		Telex Metals		United States		YES
Tantalum		Tranzact, Inc.		United States		YES
Tantalum		Ulba Metallurgical Plant JSC		Kazakhstan		YES
Tantalum		XinXing Haorong Electronic Material Co., Ltd.		China		YES
Tantalum		Yichun Jin Yang Rare Metal Co., Ltd.		China		YES
Tantalum		Zhuzhou Cemented Carbide		China		YES
Tin		Alpha		United States		YES
Tin		An Thai Minerals Company Limited		Vietnam		YES
Tin		An Vinh Joint Stock Mineral Processing Company		Vietnam		NO
Tin		Best Metais e Soldas SA		Brazil		NO
Tin		Chenzhou Yunxiang Mining and Metallurgy Company Limited		China		NO

---

Annex A

 

Metal		Official Smelter Name		Smelter Country		Certified Smelter
Tin		China Tin Group Co., Ltd.		China		YES
Tin		CNMC (Guangxi) PGMA Co. Ltd.		China		NO
Tin		Cooperativa Metalurgica de Rondônia Ltda.		Brazil		YES
Tin		CV Ayi Jaya		Indonesia		YES
Tin		CV Dua Sekawan		Indonesia		NO
Tin		CV Duta Putra Bangka		Indonesia		NO
Tin		CV Gita Pesona		Indonesia		YES
Tin		CV Serumpun Sebalai		Indonesia		YES
Tin		CV Tiga Sekawan		Indonesia		NO
Tin		CV United Smelting		Indonesia		YES
Tin		CV Venus Inti Perkasa		Indonesia		YES
Tin		Dowa		Japan		NO
Tin		Electro-Mechanical Facility of the Cao Bang Minerals & Metallurgy Joint Stock Company		Vietnam		NO
Tin		Elmet S.L.U. (Metallo Group)		Spain		YES
Tin		EM Vinto		Bolivia		YES
Tin		Estanho de Rondônia S.A.		Brazil		NO
Tin		Feinhutte Halsbrucke GmbH		Germany		NO
Tin		Fenix Metals		Poland		YES
Tin		Gejiu Fengming Metalurgy Chemical Plant		China		NO
Tin		Gejiu Kai Meng Industry and Trade LLC		China		YES
Tin		Gejiu Non-Ferrous Metal Processing Co., Ltd.		China		YES
Tin		Gejiu Yunxin Nonferrous Electrolysis Co., Ltd.		China		NO
Tin		Gejiu Zi-Li		China		NO
Tin		Guanyang Guida Nonferrous Metal Smelting Plant		China		NO
Tin		HuiChang Hill Tin Industry Co., Ltd.		China		NO
Tin		Huichang Jinshunda Tin Co. Ltd		China		NO
Tin		Jean Goldschmidt International SA		Belgium		NO
Tin		Jiangxi Ketai Advanced Material Co., Ltd.		China		YES
Tin		Linwu Xianggui Smelter Co		China		NO
Tin		Magnu’s Minerais Metais e Ligas Ltda.		Brazil		YES
Tin		Malaysia Smelting Corporation (MSC)		Malaysia		YES
Tin		Melt Metais e Ligas S/A		Brazil		YES
Tin		Metahub Industries Sdn. Bhd.		Malaysia		NO
Tin		Metallic Resources, Inc.		United States		YES
Tin		Metallo-Chimique N.V.		Belgium		YES
Tin		Mineração Taboca S.A.		Brazil		NO
Tin		Minsur		Peru		YES
Tin		Mitsubishi Materials Corporation		Japan		YES
Tin		Nankang Nanshan Tin Co., Ltd.		China		NO
Tin		Nghe Tinh Non-Ferrous Metals Joint Stock Company		Vietnam		NO
Tin		Novosibirsk Integrated Tin Works		Russia		NO
Tin		O.M. Manufacturing (Thailand) Co., Ltd.		Thailand		YES
Tin		O.M. Manufacturing Philippines, Inc.		Philippines		YES
Tin		Operaciones Metalurgical S.A.		Bolivia		YES
Tin		Phoenix Metal Ltd		Rwanda		NO
Tin		PT Alam Lestari Kencana		Indonesia		NO
Tin		PT Aries Kencana Sejahtera		Indonesia		YES

---

Annex A

 

Metal		Official Smelter Name		Smelter Country		Certified Smelter
Tin		PT Artha Cipta Langgeng		Indonesia		YES
Tin		PT ATD Makmur Mandiri Jaya		Indonesia		YES
Tin		PT Babel Inti Perkasa		Indonesia		YES
Tin		PT Bangka Kudai Tin		Indonesia		NO
Tin		PT Bangka Prima Tin		Indonesia		YES
Tin		PT Bangka Timah Utama Sejahtera		Indonesia		NO
Tin		PT Bangka Tin Industry		Indonesia		YES
Tin		PT Belitung Industri Sejahtera		Indonesia		YES
Tin		PT BilliTin Makmur Lestari		Indonesia		YES
Tin		PT Bukit Timah		Indonesia		YES
Tin		PT Cipta Persada Mulia		Indonesia		YES
Tin		PT DS Jaya Abadi		Indonesia		YES
Tin		PT Eunindo Usaha Mandiri		Indonesia		YES
Tin		PT Fang Di MulTindo		Indonesia		NO
Tin		PT Inti Stania Prima		Indonesia		YES
Tin		PT Justindo		Indonesia		YES
Tin		PT Karimun Mining		Indonesia		NO
Tin		PT Kijang Jaya Mandiri		Indonesia		NO
Tin		PT Mitra Stania Prima		Indonesia		YES
Tin		PT Panca Mega Persada		Indonesia		YES
Tin		PT Pelat Timah Nusantara Tbk		Indonesia		NO
Tin		PT Prima Timah Utama		Indonesia		YES
Tin		PT Refined Bangka Tin		Indonesia		YES
Tin		PT Sariwiguna Binasentosa		Indonesia		YES
Tin		PT Seirama Tin investment		Indonesia		NO
Tin		PT Stanindo Inti Perkasa		Indonesia		YES
Tin		PT Sukses Inti Makmur		Indonesia		YES
Tin		PT Sumber Jaya Indah		Indonesia		YES
Tin		PT Timah (Persero) Tbk Kundur		Indonesia		YES
Tin		PT Timah (Persero) Tbk Mentok		Indonesia		YES
Tin		PT Tinindo Inter Nusa		Indonesia		YES
Tin		PT Tirus Putra Mandiri		Indonesia		NO
Tin		PT Tommy Utama		Indonesia		YES
Tin		PT WAHANA PERKIT JAYA		Indonesia		YES
Tin		Resind Indústria e Comércio Ltda.		Brazil		NO
Tin		Rui Da Hung		Taiwan		YES
Tin		Soft Metais Ltda.		Brazil		YES
Tin		Thaisarco		Thailand		YES
Tin		Tuyen Quang Non-Ferrous Metals Joint Stock Company		Vietnam		NO
Tin		VQB Mineral and Trading Group JSC		Vietnam		YES
Tin		White Solder Metalurgia e Mineração Ltda.		Brazil		YES
Tin		Yunnan Chengfeng Non-ferrous Metals Co.,Ltd.		China		YES
Tin		Yunnan Tin Group (Holding) Company Limited		China		YES
Tungsten		A.L.M.T. TUNGSTEN Corp.		Japan		YES
Tungsten		ACL Metais Eireli		Brazil		NO
Tungsten		Asia Tungsten Products Vietnam Ltd.		Vietnam		YES
Tungsten		Chenzhou Diamond Tungsten Products Co., Ltd.		China		YES

---

Annex A

 

Metal		Official Smelter Name		Smelter Country		Certified Smelter
Tungsten		Chongyi Zhangyuan Tungsten Co., Ltd.		China		YES
Tungsten		Dayu Jincheng Tungsten Industry Co., Ltd.		China		YES
Tungsten		Dayu Weiliang Tungsten Co., Ltd.		China		YES
Tungsten		Fujian Jinxin Tungsten Co., Ltd.		China		YES
Tungsten		Ganxian Shirui New Material Co., Ltd.		China		NO
Tungsten		Ganzhou Huaxing Tungsten Products Co., Ltd.		China		YES
Tungsten		Ganzhou Jiangwu Ferrotungsten Co., Ltd.		China		YES
Tungsten		Ganzhou Non-ferrous Metals Smelting Co., Ltd.		China		YES
Tungsten		Ganzhou Seadragon W & Mo Co., Ltd.		China		YES
Tungsten		Ganzhou Yatai Tungsten Co., Ltd.		China		YES
Tungsten		Global Tungsten & Powders Corp.		United States		YES
Tungsten		Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten Co., Ltd.		China		YES
Tungsten		H.C. Starck GmbH		Germany		YES
Tungsten		H.C. Starck Smelting GmbH & Co.KG		Germany		YES
Tungsten		Hunan Chenzhou Mining Co., Ltd.		China		NO
Tungsten		Hunan Chuangda Vanadium Tungsten Co., Ltd. Wuji		China		YES
Tungsten		Hunan Chuangda Vanadium Tungsten Co., Ltd. Yanglin		China		YES
Tungsten		Hunan Chunchang Nonferrous Metals Co., Ltd.		China		YES
Tungsten		Hydrometallurg, JSC		Russia		YES
Tungsten		Japan New Metals Co., Ltd.		Japan		YES
Tungsten		Jiangwu H.C. Starck Tungsten Products Co., Ltd.		China		YES
Tungsten		Jiangxi Gan Bei Tungsten Co., Ltd.		China		YES
Tungsten		Jiangxi Minmetals Gao’an Non-ferrous Metals Co., Ltd.		China		NO
Tungsten		Jiangxi Tonggu Non-ferrous Metallurgical & Chemical Co., Ltd.		China		YES
Tungsten		Jiangxi Xinsheng Tungsten Industry Co., Ltd.		China		YES
Tungsten		Jiangxi Xiushui Xianggan Nonferrous Metals Co., Ltd.		China		YES
Tungsten		Jiangxi Yaosheng Tungsten Co., Ltd.		China		YES
Tungsten		Kennametal Fallon		United States		YES
Tungsten		Kennametal Huntsville		United States		YES
Tungsten		Malipo Haiyu Tungsten Co., Ltd.		China		YES
Tungsten		Niagara Refining LLC		United States		YES
Tungsten		Nui Phao H.C. Starck Tungsten Chemicals Manufacturing LLC		Vietnam		YES
Tungsten		Pobedit, JSC		Russia		YES
Tungsten		Sanher Tungsten Vietnam Co., Ltd.		Vietnam		YES
Tungsten		South-East Nonferrous Metal Company Limited of Hengyang City		China		NO
Tungsten		Tejing (Vietnam) Tungsten Co., Ltd.		Vietnam		YES
Tungsten		Vietnam Youngsun Tungsten Industry Co., Ltd.		Vietnam		YES
Tungsten		Wolfram Bergbau und Hütten AG		Austria		YES
Tungsten		Woltech Korea Co., Ltd.		South Korea		NO
Tungsten		Xiamen Tungsten Co., Ltd.		China		YES
Tungsten		Xinfeng Huarui Tungsten & Molybdenum New Material Co., Ltd.		China		NO
Tungsten		Xinhai Rendan Shaoguan Tungsten Co., Ltd.		China		YES
Tungsten		Zhuzhou Cemented Carbide		China		NO

---

Annex B

Additional Unverified Smelters

 

•

Brinkmann Chemie GmbH

 

•

CFC Cooperativa dos Fundidores de Cassiterita da Amazonia Ltda.

 

•

China Gold Deal Investment Co., Ltd.

 

•

China Minmetals Corporation

 

•

China National Gold Group Corporation

 

•

Colt Refining

 

•

CV Makmur Jaya

 

•

Ganzhou Hongfei Tungsten & Molybdenum Materials Co., Ltd.

 

•

Global Advanced Metals

 

•

Gold Bell Group

 

•

H.C. Starck/H.C. Starck Group

 

•

Huanggang Tongding Metal Material Co., Ltd.

 

•

Japanese House Manufacturing

 

•

Jiangxi Richsea New Materials Co., Ltd.

 

•

JingDong chemical Material

 

•

Kunshan Jinli Chemical Industry Reagents Co Ltd.

 

•

Leqing Zongli Non-ferrous metal material Corporation

 

•

Minmetals Ganzhou Tin Co. Ltd.

 

•

Nathan Trotter

 

•

Norddeutshe Affinerie

 

•

Novosibirsk Processing Plant Ltd.

 

•

Plansee

 

•

PT Babel Surya Alam Lestari

 

•

PT Bangka Putra Karya

 

•

PT Hanjaya Perkasa Metals

 

•

PT HP Metals Indonesia

 

•

PT Koba Tin

 

•

PT Tambang Timah

 

•

PT Yinchendo Mining Industry

 

•

Remondis Argentia B.V.

 

•

Samwha Group

 

•

Sanmenxia Hengsheng Science and Technology R&D Co. Ltd.

 

•

Shandong Gold&Silver Refinery Co.

 

•

Shanghai Jiangxi Metals Co., Ltd.

 

•

Tantalite Resources

 

•

Wolfram Company CJSC

---

Annex C

Countries of Origin

 

•

Argentina

 

•

Armenia

 

•

Australia

 

•

Austria

 

•

Belarus

 

•

Belgium

 

•

Bolivia

 

•

Brazil

 

•

Burundi

 

•

Canada

 

•

Chile

 

•

China

 

•

DRC- Congo (Kinshasa)

 

•

Estonia

 

•

Ethiopia

 

•

France

 

•

Germany

 

•

Ghana

 

•

Guinea

 

•

Guyana

 

•

Hong Kong

 

•

India

 

•

Indonesia

 

•

Italy

 

•

Japan

 

•

Kazakhstan

 

•

Kyrgyzstan

 

•

Laos

 

•

Malaysia

 

•

Mali

 

•

Mexico

 

•

Mongolia

 

•

Morocco

 

•

Mozambique

 

•

Myanmar

 

•

Namibia

 

•

Netherlands

 

•

Niger

 

•

Nigeria

 

•

Papua New Guinea

---

Annex C

 

•

Peru

 

•

Philippines

 

•

Poland

 

•

Portugal

 

•

Russia

 

•

Rwanda

 

•

Saudi Arabia

 

•

Sierra Leone

 

•

Singapore

 

•

South Africa

 

•

Spain

 

•

Suriname

 

•

Sweden

 

•

Switzerland

 

•

Taiwan

 

•

Tajikistan

 

•

Tanzania

 

•

Thailand

 

•

Turkey

 

•

United Arab Emirates

 

•

United Kingdom

 

•

United States

 

•

Uzbekistan

 

•

Vietnam

 

•

Zambia

 

•

Zimbabwe

---

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