This research explored the potential roles of financial institutions in promoting responsible minerals trade from conflict-affected and high-risk areas (CAHRAs).
Reports
This project supported civil society initiatives for monitoring transparency, appropriation of the early warning mechanism and the accountability of the mining sector in South Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Webinars
Beginning in June 2017, the PPA supported the Coalition of Civil Society Organizations in the Great Lakes Region (COSOC-GL) in its efforts to build awareness of the importance of demilitarization of mine sites in critical sectors of South Kivu – one of DRC’s most conflict-affected provinces. The project has two main objectives and areas of activity:
In support of these objectives, COSOC’s work will include direct workshops and a radio campaign targeting members of the , civil society, and citizens in critical sectors of South Kivu – one of DRC’s most conflict-affected provinces.Future reports and materials will be posted here when they are available.
IMPACT (then Partnership Africa Canada, or PAC), in partnership with the Diamond Development Initiative (DDI) began work on their partially PPA-funded project in fall of 2012 and completed work in early 2014. This project attempted to create the first traceable conflict-free mineral chain for artisanal gold from the Orientale province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Projects Reports
To support responsible sourcing and economic development in the DRC while addressing downstream concerns about due diligence and traceability, industry partners launched three "closed-pipe" (meaning they identified all supply chain participants in advance) sourcing initiatives - a Solutions for Hope tantalum pilot in July 2011, a KEMET tantalum pilot in October 2011, and the Conflict Free Tin Initiative pilot in October 2012. Anecdotally, the initiatives have improved local employment, tantalum and tin prices for tagged material and therefore income, cash flow, income opportunities for women, working conditions, and security. There have also been reported challenges.
As these are important examples of the value in downstream engagement in sourcing from DRC and GLR, and as the projects had been in place for one or more years (as of late 2014), the PPA commissioned an independent assessment of the social and economic impacts and performance of the three programs. Estelle Levin Ltd. was selected to conduct the research and assess the projects against their stated goals, as well as more generally. This assessment highlights benefits, challenges, and other lessons from CFTI, KEMET, and SfH and their application to broader sourcing and due diligence considerations for civil society, government, and companies engaged in the tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold supply chains.
Among its many findings, the assessment concluded that these programs:
These findings are discussed in more detail in the following materials:
IPIS maps security dynamics (e.g., artisanal mining presence, mine sites, presence of armed groups) in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, and the Central African Republic. IPIS also works to build capacity of local government and civil society.
The PPA supported project by IPIS that sought to enhance and facilitate transparency in the DRC artisanal gold sector by engaging with local civil society in systemized data collection on production and trade. The project further aimed to deepen civil society’s understanding of the dynamics and needs of the whole supply chain, and to build technical and analytical capacity for data collection, management, and report writing.
Future reports and materials will be posted when they are available.
Save Act Mine received a PPA grant in mid-2015 to operate a telephone hotline to receive and verify reports of smuggling and fraud in tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold mines and supply chains, and to develop a graphic manual to educate upstream actors on the importance of due diligence.
Graphic Manual on Due Diligence:
French | Swahili | Lingala | English (coming soon)
Save Act Mine presentation on project and related programs (French Only)
First Interim Report (Aug - December 2015)
Française | English
The PPA periodically offers funding opportunities for projects that support efforts to develop and/or deploy ICGLR- and OECD-compliant, validated, certified, and traceable mines and supply chain routes, for gold, tin, tantalum, and tungsten in the Great Lakes Region. To receive updates from the PPA, including funding announcements, please sign up here.
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