SEC mandates company disclosures on mineral use

[August 23, 2012]  WASHINGTON (AP) -- Regulators mandated Wednesday that public companies must disclose information about their use of minerals from Congo, where militias linked to atrocities have profited from mining minerals used in electronics, jewelry and other goods.

The Securities and Exchange Commission voted 3-2 to adopt a rule under the 2010 financial overhaul law. Public companies that use the designated minerals from Congo and neighboring countries in their products will have to disclose annually their efforts to trace the minerals back to their sources.

The regulators say stricter reporting requirements might help curb the violence in Congo. They also say the rules will make companies more accountable to their shareholders.

Some companies have complained about the difficulty of determining whether, or in what quantity, certain products include the affected minerals.

[Associated Press; By MARCY GORDON]

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