The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, signed into law by President Obama on July 21, 2010, includes requirements for manufacturers of products containing tin, tantalum, gold, tungsten, or any other “conflict metals”. Section 1502 imposes direct SEC reporting requirements on any publicly traded companies whose products contain metals derived from conflict minerals. Conflict minerals are mined in areas such as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) which provide revenue to groups committing violence in the DRC

 The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Regulation and Consumer Protection Act define “Conflict Minerals” as: columbite-tantalite (coltan), cassiterite, gold, wolframite or their derivatives, or any other mineral or its derivative determined by the U.S. Secretary of State to be financing conflict in the DRC or an adjoining country. Adjoining countries are defined as countries that share a border with the DRC, and include Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. “DRC conflict free” means products that do not contain minerals that directly or indirectly finance or benefit armed groups in the DRC or adjoining countries. Conflict minerals are used widely by many industries. For example, wolframite is the main source of the metal tungsten, which is used to make cutting tools for the machining industry. Tungsten is also used to make filaments in light bulbs, turbine engines for aircraft and energy generation and in various electronic components. Cassiterite is used in the production of tin, which, in turn, is used in the solder that joins electronic components together and as an alloy for other metals to prevent corrosion. Columbite-tantalite becomes tantalite when refined. Tantalite is used mainly in the manufacture of condensers and micro-electronic technology (chips and processors), cell phones and nuclear reactors. It is also used in the production of certain varieties of steel.

 Captive Fastener Corp has investigated to the best of our ability our suppliers, and while some of our suppliers may use some of the minerals listed, none of these minerals originate from the DRC.