Apple has been asked to verify that it doesn’t use “conflict minerals” in the iPhone
Apple has been formally accused by Congo of covering up war crimes by using conflict minerals in its supply chain, and criminal complaints have been filed in France and Belgium.
Apple and at least most Big Tech manufacturers have long been accused of sourcing tin, tungsten, and tantalum — the 3T materials — from regions where that means funding violent groups. And now, Apple has picked up two criminal complaints, lodged by the Congo government.
The complaint alleges that conflict minerals are laundered through multiple sales and shell companies before hitting Apple suppliers. Therefore, according to the filing spotted by Reuters early Tuesday morning, Apple is directly responsible, is complicit, and should be held accountable for crimes against humanity taking place in Congo.
Specifically, the accusations filed in France and Belgium are focused on alleged failures by conflict mineral tracking body ITSCI. That group is a group funded by the metals industry, that certifies materials leaving Congo and other conflict zones as free of slave labor, and from official sources.
The complaint in France alleges that ITSCI isn’t a reliable certification source. In fact, the Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI) is one of the groups discrediting ITSCI.
RMI removed ITSCI from its list of reliable accountability monitors for conflict mineral in 2022, and won’t be reinstated until 2026 at the earliest.
Apple is a member of RMI, and still cited ITSCI five times in a 2023 report, after the disavowment by RMI.
“It is clear that the Apple group, Apple France and Apple Retail France know very well that their minerals supply chain relies on systemic wrongdoing,” says the French complaint.
The charges are the first two of their kind against mostly American big tech. The charges include covering up war crimes, handling stolen goods, using deceptive commercial practices, and laundering tainted minerals.
More complaints against other companies are coming.
The French and Belgian courts will now determine what charges — if any — will be levied against Apple France, Apple retail in France, and Apple Retail Belgium.
Apple and conflict minerals
There are no reliable substitutes for the 3T minerals, only alternate sources. The tech industry will be reliant on them for the foreseeable future.
Tin is used in resistors, solder, batteries, and more. Tantalum is commonly alloyed, and is a major component in chip manufacture. Tungsten is another common element used across the entire electronics industry.
So, it’s critical that the minerals be obtained by big tech. And given where large concentrations exist, it’s vital that it’s done through reliable — and legal — sources that do not rely on slave labor, or through channels that perpetuate conflicts in areas like Congo.
Apple has been monitoring the situation for decades. That monitoring came to a head in 2020.
In 2020, Apple revealed that it had stopped using 18 smelters and refiners for flouting the rules over these conflict materials.
Then in 2022, it ceased working with a further 12 suppliers over the issue.
In April 2024, Congo started questioning the effectiveness of Apple’s stated Supplier Code of Conduct. A group of international lawyers wrote to Apple CEO Tim Cook and Apple subsidiaries in France, asking for answers within three weeks.
Congo was apparently not satisfied with Apple’s answer.
Apple does not buy conflict minerals directly. Rather, it uses its supply chain to do so, and publishes an annual report about that.
In the latest filing from 2023, Apple said that none of its smelters or refiners have financed armed gangs selling the conflict materials outside of official channels.
“The Apple Supplier Code of Conduct…, which includes Apple’s Supplier Responsibility Standard on the Responsible Sourcing of Materials,” Apple told the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 2022, “…requires suppliers, smelters, refiners, and recyclers in our supply chain to identify and assess a broad range of risks beyond conflict, including social, environmental, and human rights risks.”
“Since 2009, Apple has directed the removal of 163 3TG smelters and refiners from its supply chain (a total of 9 tantalum, 50 tin, 19 tungsten, and 85 gold smelters and refiners),” continued the company’s SEC filing. “In 2021, we removed 12 smelters and refiners from our supply chain, including those that were not willing to participate in or complete a third party audit, or that did not otherwise meet our requirements for the responsible sourcing of minerals.”
