In 2006, Hollywood was dazzled by the performance 
of Leonardo DiCaprio and Djimon Hounsou in Blood 
Diamond. Hounsou received an Academy Award

®

 

nomination for his performance. Their characters, 
one a smuggler and the other a fisherman, were 
joined in a common quest to recover a rare pink 
diamond from the depths of Africa. For many, this 
advocacy-genre film was an introduction to the 
plight of African countries where conflict gemstones 
and minerals are mined to fund insurgencies and 
war efforts. For others, it marked a peak in urging 
humane intervention for social injustices in Africa. 

Three years later, United States Senator Sam 
Brownback attempted to introduce the Congo 
Conflict Minerals Act (“CCMA”) requiring companies 
to verify and disclose the origins of certain ores 
typically found in electronics, automobiles, 
aerospace and jewellery. 

Collectively, these ores are termed “conflict 
minerals” and include: columbite-tantalite which is 
refined into tantalum; cassiterite which is refined 
into tin; wolframite which is refined into tungsten; 
and gold (often referred to as “3TG minerals”). The 
intent of the legislation was to prevent human rights 
abuses and stop funding for warlords, accused of 

committing atrocities in the Democratic Republic  
of Congo (“DRC”) or neighboring countries

2

 

(“Covered Countries”).

Senator Brownback presented his bill before 
the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs 
Committee where it was dismissed. Undeterred, 
he drafted five pages of provisions similar to the 
CCMA and tacked those into Section 1502 of 
the 848 page Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform 
and Consumer Protection Act the following year 
(“Dodd-Frank Act”). The Section, buried under the 
caption of “Miscellaneous Provisions” required 
the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) 
to mandate disclosure rules regarding the origin 
of conflict minerals for manufacturers and their 
suppliers. The Dodd-Frank Act was approved by 
Congress in 2011.

As a result, SEC issuers are required to comply 
with the new rules beginning in the 2013 calendar 
year and the first Conflict Minerals Reports are 
due on May 31, 2014 and annually thereafter. Chief 
Executive Officers and Chief Financial Officers are 
not required to provide certification; however they 
are subject to liability for filing false or misleading 
statements. 

is a Senior Manager within KPMG’s Forensic practice in Toronto. She holds a Bachelor of 
Commerce degree, is a Chartered Accountant, and a Certified Public Accountant in the US. 
With over 10 years experience in public accounting, she has assisted with investigations, 
dispute advisory, contract compliance and data analytic assignments within Canada and 
around the globe.

Anna Maria Cicirello

Contact:

  acicirello@kpmg.ca 

or

 (416) 777-8471            

2 

Covered countries include those countries that share an internationally recognized border with the DRC and presently include Angola, Burundi, Central African 
Republic, the Republic of Congo, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. (Source: http://www.sec.gov/rules/final/2012/34-67716.pdf, page 6, note 7)

© 2013 KPMG LLP, a Canadian limited liability partnership and a member firm of the KPMG network of independent member firms 
affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative (“KPMG International”), a Swiss entity. All rights reserved.

At Risk

 

 

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 Volume 7, No. 1 

 

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