The minerals sector plays a crucial role in the global economy by providing essential raw materials for industries, including energy, mobility, construction, technology and defence. However, mining also generates significant environmental, social and governance challenges. The increasing demand for minerals critical to the energy transition and digital technologies is attracting more attention to such risks. This case study examines the sector’s key characteristics, salient risks and impacts, and the contextual and operational opportunities and challenges that companies face in implementing risk-based due diligence in line with international standards on Responsible Business Conduct.1 It is targeted at companies outside of the mining sector who are seeking to understand their exposure to minerals related risks, and also for policymakers and stakeholders seeking to better understand opportunities for promoting effective due diligence in the sector.
Due diligence essentials for responsible minerals
Abstract
Mining encompasses a broad array of sub-sectors, including:
base metals such as copper, aluminium, and zinc, which are critical for infrastructure and manufacturing
precious metals like gold, silver, and platinum which have monetary and financial uses in addition to applications in jewellery, electronics and catalytic converters
rare earth elements such as neodymium, dysprosium and terbium, which are indispensable for high-tech industries, especially in renewable energy systems, electric vehicles (EVs), electronics and defence technologies
bulk commodities like coal, iron ore and steel, which are widely used in construction, energy production and industrial processes.
Certain economic and policy contexts have led to the use of other terms for some minerals and metals; “transition minerals” comprise minerals and metals important to low-carbon technologies. Some, including lithium, graphite, cobalt and nickel are experiencing heightened demand driven by their role in the energy transition. “Critical minerals” is a broader category, typically including transition minerals in addition to other minerals that have strategic uses in national defence or for economic security. The term “development minerals” refers to construction materials, dimension stones and semi-precious stones, often mined informally in small-scale operations and used in local economic circuits. This category overlaps with sand and silicate materials, spanning aggregates, clays, stone, silica and quartzes, some of which are non-metallic. Policymakers sometimes see minerals through the prism of their risk profiles. This has given rise to the term “conflict minerals” for minerals mined and traded in contexts in which they may finance armed conflict.
While sub-sectors based on chemical properties are static, grouping minerals based on policy context or end use tends to be dynamic, overlapping and tends to vary across institutions and policy communities. For example, while not on most critical minerals lists, the People’s Republic of China (here after ‘China) considers gold as critical due to its importance to the financial sector.
Mining spans a range of operating contexts, with significant reserves located in areas with perceived governance risks, instability and limited infrastructure (International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), 2018[2]; Nygaard, 2023[3]; International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), 2023[4]) (see Figure 1).
Source: IEA (2025[10]), The Role of Traceability in Critical Mineral Supply Chains, https://www.iea.org/reports/the-role-of-traceability-in-critical-mineral-supply-chains.
Supply chain structure
All mineral supply chains share basic similarities with the key segments shown in Figure 2 and Figure 3 with mining and refining segments often linked by intermediaries prior to downstream use. However, each mineral sub-sector has certain specificities. Many of these mineral-specific features arise during processing and refining.
Mining
The mining stage involves different phases. The exploration phase consists of identifying and assessing mineral deposits through mapping, surveying and sampling of geological formations that suggest the presence of ore. The economic viability of extraction is determined by ore grade, measured in grams per metric ton (g/t). Exploration is a lengthy process, lasting up to a decade with often low success rates.
The development phase includes securing permits and constructing the mine, a process that takes between two and five years depending on location, regulations, and mineral processing requirements. Deposit size and shape determine mining method: underground, open-pit, or both. The interval from ore discovery to starting production lasts on average 18 years for mines coming online in 2020-2023 (Manalo, 2024[6]).
Once operational, the extraction phase begins, often leading to the creation of large tailings of inert ore and other mine waste. When the deposit is depleted or the extraction becomes uneconomical, the final phase involves the closure and rehabilitation of the mine site, which can also last many years.
The global mining industry operates within a diverse and complex landscape of business models. Broadly, three primary mining approaches dominate the sector:
1. Exploration/junior mining refers to small-cap companies primarily focused on the exploration and early-stage development of mineral resources. These companies typically operate with limited capital and specialise in the high-risk, high-reward business of identifying commercially viable mineral deposits.
2. Industrial or large-scale mining (LSM) is typically capital-intensive, technologically advanced, and operated by multinational corporations. These projects require significant investment, often exceeding billions of dollars, and involve long project lifecycles. The LSM model focuses on economies of scale, extracting large volumes of ore of often low grade with high operational efficiency.
3. Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) is a labour-intensive model often characterised by informal or semi-formal operations. ASM typically targets high-value, easily accessible deposits and, despite its lower productivity, can represent a significant share of mineral production, spanning cobalt (5%), gold, (20%), tantalum (25%) and sapphires (80%) among many others. Despite its predominantly informal nature, ASM remains a key livelihood for at least 45 million people in many producing countries, particularly in regions like Sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America (World Bank, 2024[7]).
Trading
Once mined, the ore is usually transported to the refiner. Prior to this, most large-scale mining operations undertake some form of on-site processing (or smelting) and aggregation, resulting in a semi-processed product typically in the form of ‘concentrate’ or ore-derived chemicals. International commodity traders of varying sizes, play an important role connecting multiple actors across geographically dispersed supply chain stages.
Commodity traders play a pivotal role in mineral supply chains, purchasing, transporting, storing, blending and selling ores, concentrates and secondary materials from diverse sources. These traders range from small informal operators to large multinational companies. In some cases, they also operate their own mines and refineries, adding to the complexity of their operations. As intermediaries, traders connect multiple actors, blending and handling minerals from diverse origins to meet client requirements for location, mineral grade and timing.
Minerals extracted by artisanal and small-scale miners are also aggregated, processed and traded locally, before being exported. Key actors in this phase include local buyers, who purchase metals and minerals directly from the mines and exporters, which often have a network of local buyers or directly finance artisanal mining operations, and sell initially processed minerals to smelters and refiners.
Traders are often the first international interface for mining operations, especially for mines that are not operated by the largest multinationals. In this regard, they may have high visibility over many of the risks that face the sector, and can play an important role in carrying out due diligence to mitigate such risks, though relevant management systems and practices vary considerably across this segment of the supply chain.
Refining
In the smelting and refining stage, a series of chemical and mechanical processes are applied to elevate the grade of the material to commercial quality, transforming ores into concentrates and metals. These procedures may involve crushing, concentration, high temperatures, chemical treatment and other methods to gradually remove impurities and increase the grade of the mineral.
Smelters and refiners are key points of transformation where the highest volumes of materials are handled by a relatively small number of companies. Refiners may not always own the minerals they treat as they can provide refining services for a fee for clients that maintain ownership over the material during the process.
Recycling
The availability of recycled materials on the market depends on the availability of recyclable inputs and recycling rates, which in turn depend on available technologies, the economics of recycling and the regulatory environment (IEA, 2021[9]). For bulk metals, recycling practices are well established, and metals are readily available, but this is not yet the case for many energy transition metals such as lithium and rare earth elements. Emerging waste streams from clean energy technologies (e.g. batteries and wind turbines) are expected to increase after 2030, at a time when mineral demand is set to still be growing rapidly. The IEA estimates that by 2040, the wider availability of copper, lithium, nickel and cobalt from spent batteries could reduce combined mined—or “primary”—supply requirements for these minerals by around 10% (IEA, 2021). Gold has a mature and well-established recycling market, with secondary supply accounting for a significant share of total production, though recycling has been used to mask high-risk origins of primary production (OECD, 2021[10]).
The most likely and severe risks related to the minerals sector and flagged in research are described below. While this list can inform individual company due diligence efforts, it is non-exhaustive. Each company is expected to identify its priority risk areas based on its individual circumstances, including risks not listed here.
Deforestation, loss of biodiversity and land degradation
Mining affects up to one-third of the world's forest ecosystems and is related to extensive deforestation. Mining waste, including tailings and slag, can further contaminate soil and water, exacerbating landscape degradation. Mining activities often occur in biodiversity-rich areas, where it can lead to habitat destruction, species loss, and a significant reduction in ecosystem services. The impacts on ecosystems are sometimes irreversible, particularly when mining takes place in critical habitats, forests, wetlands or marine environments.
Mining activities often entail changes to land use, although the impact of a particular mine depends on its type (for example, open-pit versus underground), geological mineral source (for example, lithium hard rock versus brine deposits) and geographical context (for example, mines located in tropical rainforests will have higher biodiversity impacts than mines on degraded land). The construction of associated infrastructure, such as roads, can disrupt natural corridors and fragment wildlife habitats. This fragmentation impairs habitat connectivity, which is crucial for the survival of many species. Mining developments rarely exist in isolation, and their collective impacts on ecosystems, water resources and biodiversity can be greater than the sum of individual project impacts.
Water use and pollution
Pollution in mining can come from many sources and cause severe impacts on the environment and local communities. Sources of water pollution from mining include tailings, chemical run-off, and acid mine drainage. This acidic runoff can leach harmful heavy metals, such as arsenic, lead, and mercury, into nearby water sources, causing long-term contamination of rivers, streams, and groundwater. The resulting pollution not only disrupts aquatic ecosystems but also poses significant health risks to nearby communities as these toxic substances can accumulate in drinking water supplies and food chains. Soil contaminants such as erosion, chemical spills, and waste rock from mining operations can degrade soil quality.
Mine tailings are typically stored in ponds or behind tailings dams. These storage facilities can be susceptible to breaches when not adequately managed, which can lead to significant leakage into groundwater and waterways, causing widespread environmental contamination and adverse health effects. In some cases, tailings dam breaches have led to catastrophic loss of life due to massive landslides of mud and toxic slurry that can engulf surrounding villages.
Artisanal and small-scale gold mining, which is often unregulated, generates 37% of global mercury pollution - more than any other source (United Nations Environment Programme, 2019[11]). Miners use mercury, which binds to gold particles in ores, to carry out an initial processing of the ore. Studies indicate that up to a third of artisanal miners suffer from moderate metallic mercury vapor intoxication (Steckling et al., 2017[12]).
Air pollution and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
Emissions from dust, equipment, and fugitive sources can contribute to air pollution. This can lead to human health issues and environmental damage, including acid rain.
Mining and related processing activities are highly energy intensive, and the mining sector is a significant contributor of global GHG emissions, representing up to 7% of global GHG emissions and up to 10% of annual global energy-related GHG emissions. Critical minerals are pivotal to clean energy, yet they typically require much more energy to produce per unit of product than other commodities, which results in higher emissions intensity.
Mining operations contribute to greenhouse gas emissions through several pathways. Energy use in mining is often reliant on fossil fuels like diesel, which power equipment, transportation, and processing activities. Additionally, underground mining can release methane (CH4) from mineral deposits. The mining and ore processing activities themselves also generate emissions. Furthermore, deforestation caused by clearing land for mining reduces the earth's ability to absorb CO2, and if the land is cleared through burning, it may lead to additional emissions.
Coal mining in particular is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions across all three scopes, with Scope 3 emissions (i.e., those indirectly generated by downstream activities) being particularly noteworthy. Methane, a greenhouse gas over 80 times more potent than CO₂ over a 20-year period, is released during the mining of coal. This occurs particularly in underground mines where methane is trapped in coal seams. Scope 3 emissions occur primarily from the combustion of coal by end users, such as power plants and industrial facilities, which accounts for most of the sector’s carbon footprint.
In addition, coal mining and combustion generate significant air pollutants, including particulate matter (PM 2.5 and PM10), sulphur dioxide (SO₂) and nitrogen oxides (NOₓ), negatively contributing to respiratory diseases, cardiovascular illnesses and premature mortality near mining and coal-burning facilities.
Noise and vibration
Noise and vibration generated by mining activities can have severe adverse impacts on both local biodiversity and nearby communities. Noise sources include drilling, blasting, fixed and mobile equipment such as excavators, the loading, unloading and movement of trucks, crushers, mills, air fans, diesel generators and various handheld pneumatic and grinding tools. Vibrations are primarily associated with blasting and the movement of heavy vehicles, which can cause structural damage to buildings and disrupt the daily lives of people living nearby. Wildlife in the vicinity of mining operations often migrates away from the area due to the persistent noise, disrupting local ecosystems and potentially leading to a loss of biodiversity. Similarly, local communities can experience significant hardship, as excessive noise can lead to sleep disturbances, stress, and other health issues.
Displacement of local communities and loss of livelihoods
Mining projects frequently require extensive land areas, which can lead to the displacement of communities from their homes.(Owen, Kemp and Lechner, 2023[13]). Mining can cause or exacerbate conflicts within local communities, particularly when communities are not properly consulted or involved in decision-making. Protests against mining operations can often lead to violence from private security forces or state authorities, especially in regions where militarisation is prevalent. Mining activities or land acquisition for mining can lead to the forced displacement of communities, disrupting traditional livelihoods, especially in agriculture, fishing, and hunting. Such displacement can often lack adequate compensation or resettlement support, leading to long-term economic insecurity. Mining activities can also damage cultural heritage by destroying sacred sites, disrupting traditional practices, and weakening community cohesion.
Indigenous Peoples rights and free, prior and informed consent (FPIC)
Mining projects can frequently encroach on Indigenous lands. For example,96% of uncontacted people from the rainforests of Peru and Brazil to Indonesia today face threats from resource extraction, according to Survival International (Context, 2025[14]).Environmental degradation caused by mining can threaten Indigenous Peoples’ agricultural practices, hunting, and fishing, which are often integral to their survival and cultural practices. Sacred sites and cultural practices are at risk of irreversible damage from mining activities, undermining the spiritual identity and well-being of Indigenous Peoples. Mining can disrupt the social fabric of Indigenous communities, eroding traditional governance systems and increasing tensions within and between communities.
Mining regions have seen a rise in sexual violence, murders, and disappearances of Indigenous Peoples, particularly women, exacerbating the broader social impacts of extractive industries on these vulnerable populations. Indigenous activists who oppose mining projects can often face intimidation, violence, and criminalisation. In some cases, resistance has led to the killing of Indigenous leaders defending their land.
Poor labour practices and health and safety risks
Mining is an inherently hazardous industry, with accidents and fatalities being disproportionately high, particularly in ASM and illegal operations. Although mining represents only 1% of the global workforce, it accounts for 8% of fatal workplace accidents (International Labour Organization, 2015[15]).
Workers face a range of occupational health and safety (OHS) hazards in mining (Baraza, Cugueró-Escofet and Rodríguez-Elizalde, 2023[16]). Physical hazards like rock falls, cave-ins, explosions, dust exposure, noise, vibration, and heavy equipment accidents are common in the industry. Additionally, workers can face chemical hazards due to exposure to toxic gases and chemicals, which can lead to long-term health problems. Ergonomic hazards are also prevalent, with musculoskeletal disorders and repetitive strain injuries being frequent due to the physical demands of the job. Psychosocial hazards, including mental stress, fatigue, and shift work, further exacerbate the risks in this sector.
Coal mining remains one of the most hazardous industries globally due to its high rates of fatalities, injuries and occupational illness, such as black lung disease and pneumoconiosis. Additionally, poor labour practices, including wages less favourable to the workers than those offered by comparable employers in the host country, lack of benefits and unsafe working conditions, remain prevalent in many coal mining regions, particularly in developing countries.
Child labour and forced labour
While mining can offer employment opportunities and stimulate local economic growth, it can also involve significant exploitation. The International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates that more than one million children worldwide are engaged in hazardous labour in mines and quarries, performing dangerous tasks such as digging, sifting, and transporting heavy materials (International Labour Organization, 2019[17]). Child labour in mining is most commonly found in illegal ASM mines.
Child labour is also prevalent in the recycling of minerals and metals, including e-waste and ship recycling activities. Additionally, scrap metals retrieved from less industrialised countries often involve labour in hazardous conditions, with children frequently involved in scavenging metal from waste dumps by hand (Bhat, 2023[18]).
Forced labour in mining supply chains is a critical human rights issue affecting various stages of raw material extraction, processing and production. Globally, regions known for significant mining activity, such as parts of Africa, Asia and South America have been associated with forced labour. This includes labour in the extraction of valuable resources like gold, cobalt and rare earth elements. Reports highlight that vulnerable populations, including ethnic minorities and migrant workers, are frequently exploited in these processes, with many enduring harsh working conditions, inadequate pay and lack of safety measures (United States Department of State, 2022[19]).
Women and mining
Women in the mining sector often experience the negative impacts of mining more than men, particularly with regard to safety and conditions of employment, and rarely receive the benefits that men do (Oxfam Australia, n.d.[20]). Although women make up about 15% of the formal mining workforce, this figure does not accurately represent their participation in artisanal and informal mining operations (World Bank, 2024[21]). Women are often relegated to manual, low-skilled roles with limited opportunities for advancement, skill development or remuneration. Personal protective equipment (PPE) is not typically designed with women in mind, increasing workplace risks (Mishra, Sravan and Mishra, 2024[22]). Furthermore, mining communities experience higher rates of sexual and gender-based violence, adding to the risks faced by women.
Corruption and fraud
Corruption may happen when awarding contracts or extraction licences, when negotiating contracts (whether between companies and the state or between companies and suppliers), when obtaining consent or compensation for affected communities, in the negotiation of commodity trading deals, during the course of operations, and paying taxes and fees (International Energy Agency, 2023[23]). Larger companies may be more exposed to grand corruption risks, involving larger sums of money whereas smaller companies and artisanal miners may be more vulnerable to petty corruption, solicitation, sexual exploitation and extortion, particularly in high-risk areas. Corruption risks are also present for trading and refining, especially to facilitate misdeclaration of volumes, grade, origin and related royalties or other tax duties.
Illicit financial flows, including tax evasion, transfer pricing, and misallocation of mining resources, destabilise economies by diminishing government revenues and undermining the rule of law. Political corruption, through mechanisms such as political patronage, revolving doors, and campaign contributions, distorts regulatory decisions and facilitates illegal activities in the sector. Additionally, corruption is a significant enabler of other harms, for example facilitating land grabbing, inadequate community consultation or weak enforcement of environmental laws.
Although bribery is often associated with public officials, companies may bribe other companies to unduly influence procurement processes to obtain sub-contracts, for example in logistics, transport, customs clearing, security, or auditing of mining operations. Companies may also procure goods or services from politically connected sub-contractors as an indirect form of bribery of public officials (OECD, 2021[24]).
Money laundering
Precious metals and precious stone supply chains are highly vulnerable to illegal trade and may underpin larger money laundering schemes. Their low weight, high value, high durability, stable pricing, and ability to be easily moved or smuggled make them especially attractive to traffickers, launderers, and criminal financiers, both as illegal trafficking commodities or as payment methods to finance conflict, or to be exchanged for firearms or other illegal commodities like illicit wildlife products and drugs. Trading of precious metals provides avenues for criminal groups to launder the proceeds of crimes, for example by mixing legal and illegal mining sources, exploiting vulnerabilities linked to jewellery and pawns shops, or by turning to less regulated forms such as recycled material or concentrates (OECD, 2021[10]; 2025[25]; SwissAid, 2024[26]).
Financing of non-state armed groups
Mineral extraction and trade can provide a lucrative source of funds for criminal, insurgent, and terrorists groups.2 Particularly in areas with weak government control, these groups may engage in illegal mining and trafficking in metals, often controlling the extraction process by pre-financing mining operations, looting them, extorting mining and trading companies, or by supplying the chemicals and tools (United Nations Security Council, 2010[27]). Additionally, there are also several reported cases where illegal mining is associated with trafficking of explosives. Further, these groups engage in securing areas from the intrusion of other rival groups and national armed forces, thereby creating areas of instability and conflict.3
Obstacles to uptake and leverage in complex supply chains
Many mineral supply chains are fragmented, with many intermediaries, formal and informal, throughout the supply chain. As a result, many companies may struggle to identify mineral provenance and build leverage for addressing associated upstream risks. In addition, competition for mineral inputs can disincentivise buyers from scrutinising the origin of their mineral purchases or suppliers from disclosing origin for fear being bypassed by buyers wanting to go directly to the source.
Ultimately, the lack of leverage on their suppliers by companies purchasing minerals and metals can make it difficult to encourage proper risk identification and mitigation. The international commodity trading sector, which features a handful of companies dominating the market, leaves buyers with little leverage to influence the terms of trade. Additional challenges include managing commercially sensitive information and implementing due diligence systems for spot market purchases versus longer-term agreements. With overcapacity at the refining stage for many minerals, refiners experience heightened pressure to identify new sources of supply to maintain scale operating at low profit margins.
Moving from tick-box exercises to meaningful risk mitigation
The diversity of actors and complexity of supply chain actors may hinder meaningful risk mitigation, with the risk of companies carrying out perfunctory, tick-the-box due diligence with little effect on adverse impacts. As a result, up- and mid-stream suppliers often do not conduct sufficient meaningful risk identification and mitigation, for example through on-the-ground assessments, while downstream companies may not fully use their leverage for due diligence purposes.
Blanket approaches to completely exit supply chains from certain jurisdictions or modes of production remain prevalent, while mineral transit hubs are often excluded from risk assessments by sourcing companies despite their significant risk profile. Importantly, OECD standards on responsible business conduct encourage responsible engagement in conflict-affected and high-risk areas — not blanket avoidance — in support of peace and development. Evidence points to due diligence and responsible engagement with high-risk producing areas like the African Great Lakes Region (GLR) being associated with greater diversification and resilience, while the reflex to avoid the region altogether due to conflict leaves tantalum ore from the GLR in international supply chains, but simply leaves downstream companies more dependent on fewer countries that with large tantalum refining capacities (OECD, 2025[28]).
Regulatory misalignment and gaps in law enforcement
Governments often lack the institutional capacity or dedicated resources to enforce due diligence requirements. In addition, while customs and financial intelligence units are increasingly attentive to crimes in the minerals space, existing anti-corruption and anti-money laundering regimes remain disconnected from responsible sourcing regulations, limiting their overall effectiveness. Additional regulatory challenges relate to the formalisation of ASM and governance of state-owned enterprises in producing countries.
Uptake of international standards
Investors and policy makers are increasingly expecting companies to identify and mitigate mineral-related risks more effectively and to communicate about their due diligence process and results in a transparent manner (OECD, 2023[5]). OECD standards on responsible business conduct such as the Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas (OECD Minerals Guidance) provide government-backed recommendations for companies to respect human rights and avoid contributing to conflict through their mineral or metal purchasing decisions and practices (OECD, 2016[28]). Since its adoption in 2011, the OECD Minerals Guidance has been progressively integrated into regulatory and market requirements for supply chain due diligence.4
Critical minerals diplomacy and finance
With mineral demand for clean energy technologies set to grow 3.5 times by 2050 (International Energy Agency, 2023[29]), and with governments increasingly prioritizing reduced dependency on critical and transition mineral imports, many have established strategies and partnerships with third countries to diversify supply. Greater government involvement in securing mineral resources can also help create conditions that support companies in carrying out effective due diligence to address existing risks. Producing, processing and consuming countries can, for example, promote responsible supply chains by integrating due diligence standards for responsible business conduct into diplomatic and policy initiatives, strengthening institutional capacities in producing countries and investing in local value creation (OECD, 2023[5]).
Use of traceability for due diligence
Technological advancements can present t opportunities for improving supply chain transparency. Traceability systems can, when used as part of a wider risk-based due diligence process, help meet emerging policy goals by providing ways to integrate data on origin, evolution, and ownership of minerals. Some traceability approaches can also provide a platform for embedding data on environmental, social and governance issues. To work effectively, however, traceability systems must be carefully designed -balancing standardisation and context, maintaining data quality, and adapting to varying supply chain complexities. They also require strong collaboration among companies, governments and civil society, backed by credible governance and secure data-sharing protocols. Policy makers and practitioners should adopt a measured approach towards traceability, progressively deploying mechanisms where necessary while allowing for inclusive participation and access to markets and investment (OECD/IEA, 2025[30]).
The OECD has developed various resources to support businesses carrying out due diligence for responsible minerals, notably through sector specific due diligence guidance, broader cross-sectoral resources, as well as topical resources on environmental due diligence, bribery and corruption, risks related to ASM, and due diligence for the worst forms of child labour.
OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Meaningful Stakeholder Engagement in the Extractive Sector
Handbook on Environmental Due Diligence in Mineral Supply Chains
FAQ: How to address bribery and corruption in mineral supply chains
Promoting Coherence between OECD Guidance and the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights
Resources focused on due diligence in specific regions or minerals such as gold supply chains in Colombia, cobalt and copper from the Democratic Republic of Congo, gold flows from Venezuela, free trade zones and gold flows in Latin American and the Caribbean, gold in the maritime space, and due diligence for responsible sand and silicates supply chains.
Cross-sectoral resources:
References
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← 1. The sector was chosen for a case study based on a previous study by the OECD to identify and synthesise insights from key resources on the prevalence of issues covered by the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (the OECD Guidelines) across industry sectors. To complement this analysis, the OECD further conducted an expert survey to attain a broad picture of the perceived association with Responsible Business Conduct (RBC) issues across sectors.
← 2. TRACIT: Mapping the Impact of Illicit Trade on the Sustainable Development Goals. The Transnational Alliance to Combat Illicit Trade, 2019.
← 3. Such practices have been reported in Côte d’Ivoire and South Africa. A Martin and H Helbig de Balzac, West; African El Dorado: Mapping the Illicit Trade of Gold in Côte d’Ivoire, Mali and Burkina Faso, Partnership Africa; Canada, 2017.
← 4. For example, Regulation (EU) 2017/821 laying down supply chain due diligence obligations for Union importers of tin, tantalum, tungsten, their ores, and gold originating from conflict-affected and high-risk areas, available at: https://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/cfm/doclib_section.cfm?sec=796 and the European Commission’s proposal for a new Batteries Regulation, December 2020: er 2020: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52020PC0798
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