H.C. Starck recently announced its tantalum supply chain has been declared free of “conflict minerals” for a second consecutive year following an independent audit. The audit was conducted by a third-party auditor assigned by the Electronics Industry Citizenship Coalition (EICC) and Global e-Sustainability Initiative (GeSI) as part of the Conflict-Free Smelter (CFS) Validation Program.

All of H.C. Starck’s tantalum processing plants in the U.S., Germany, Japan and Thailand were audited in the beginning of the year and were found to meet all CFS site requirements. To be declared conflict-free, H.C. Starck’s tantalum processing plants have to maintain a documented conflict minerals policy, deploy a system for tracing finished goods back to its mine of origin and document that all of its purchased materials are from non-conflict sources.

“A conflict-free raw material supply is a core part of our sustainability commitment to our customers and a key element of our obligation as a responsible corporate citizen,” said Andreas Meier, president and CEO. “For more than 10 years, we have maintained stringent worldwide guidelines for purchasing raw materials only from ethical, non-conflict sources, and we have integrated comprehensive sustainability criteria into our procurement process. This audit result is confirmation of our continuing commitment and consistent work in this area.”
 

For additional information, visit www.hcstarck.com.