The Democratic Republic of the Congo is likely to remain a high-risk location for sourcing critical minerals in the coming years, sustaining various legal, financial and reputational pressures. The potential easing of Western regulations could temporarily reduce these risks, though it would also incentivize due diligence shortcuts that increase exposure to conflict-linked minerals over time. According to numerous metrics, Congo is the world's highest-risk location for so-called "conflict minerals," meaning those extracted from areas experiencing typically prolonged conflict often driven by competition over resources, intercommunal violence, proxy wars and insurgencies. The conditions under which these minerals are extracted often include human rights violations, at times spanning from their initial extraction process through to their final sale. In Congo, conflict minerals are concentrated mainly in the eastern region, an area home to more than 120 armed groups. Within eastern Congo, the most common conflict minerals are tin, tungsten and tantalum --...
