The rolling back of Dodd Frank bill will spell danger for the conflict mines.

     I read an article in the National Geographic whereby the tin, gold and tantalum, mines based in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) were being pressured by the then US sanction under Dodd Frank ruling to exercise 'due dilligence' as it was ruining many young Congolese, many as young as 8 or 9 years old. The mines are located in the eastern DRC which are normally run by organizations who employ young Congolese at rock bottom salaries and no health insurance. Since the eastern DRC is ruled mainly by warlords who and the mines are located far away from the capital of Kinshasa, most of the commodities end up being sold to middle-men companies and are then re-sold to other companies before ending up in the smelter (high temperature furnace) of some newly developing country which makes semiconductors, or elecronic circuit cards. 

   You see, the tin, gold and tantalum form the key rare earth materials for the semiconductor industry. The gold is used as wires bonded within the die of the IC chip. Tin and tantalum form the base material for the underfill of PCB printed circuit boards and tin also forms the contact points as solder ball material between the IC chip and the chip card or motherboard.

    The Eastern part of Congo is ruled by warlords and only Kinshasa is under Federal control. Hence the mines setup by multinational corporations providing vertical integration to the supply chain of the semiconductor industry such as the raw tantalum and gold were forced to reduce the exploitation of child labour as per the Dodd Frank ruling which embargoed or made more stricter regualtions trading with the US. The warlords sold the raw materials to the middle-men companies in exchange for funds and weaponry to continue their dominace.  

    Now with the Trump White House doing a roll back on many trade deals such as the TPP and the NAFTA, the failing President has made another boo-boo. With the revoking of the Dodd Frank ruling regarding conflict mines, many of these so called industry giants will be back to their old ways, of employing child labour and causing untold and unimaginable suffering to the emerging African subcontinent.

   A tragedy is unfolding within our lifetimes.