AVX Corporation, a leading manufacturer of advanced passive components and interconnect solutions, announced on 10th May 2012 that US-based Global Advanced Metals’ tantalum processing division (GAM Technology), has joined the AVX “Solutions for Hope Project”. GAM Technology was the first tantalum smelter to achieve EICC/GeSI Conflict-Free Smelter validation in December 2010.
GAM Technology will process the fourth shipment of validated conflict-free tantalite ore mined from the world’s first BGR Green Flag validated tantalum mine site, the Mai Baridi/Luba mine complex in the Katanga region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The Mai Baridi/Luba mine site is part of the ITRI Tin Supply Chain Initiative’s (iTSCi) “bag and tag” programme, which subjects all tantalum ore set for export to a final-stage independent on-the-ground assessment.
The “Solutions for Hope Project,” established in July 2011, works with leading OEMs such as Motorola Solutions, Intel, and HP to deliver a “closed-pipe” process for delivering conflict-free tantalum material from the DRC under the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Incorporation of the independently-validated Conflict-Free Smelter (CFS) program was noted by the US Ambassador to the DRC, Barrie Walkley, in his keynote speech to the EICC/GeSI in April 2012. “We strongly commend the leading efforts of the companies behind the Solutions for Hope project, including AVX, Motorola, HP and MMR,” Walkley concluded.
Bill Millman, Tantalum Divisional Director of Quality and Technology at AVX, stated “AVX will continue its leading role by working with major electronics companies such as Motorola Solutions, HP, Intel, Nokia, RIM, Motorola Mobility, and now, GAM Technology in the Solutions for Hope program. This program demonstrates that verifiably conflict-free tantalum material can be mined and shipped in a manner that is reliable, sustainable and expandable, allowing the DRC to be utilized as a trusted regional source for responsible minerals.”