Summary
March 2020 Insight – ‘Tainted minerals’ in the supply chain: Spotlight on Ghana: The focus of this Insight is on ‘tainted minerals’ in risk areas where rights abuse occurs in mining sites and how the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Guidelines could help in mainstreaming due diligence and responsible contracting in the supply chain process. Tainted minerals are minerals whose extraction is associated with child labour and human rights abuses, or minerals whose proceeds are used to sponsor war especially in conflict areas such as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Areas, where these rights abuses and illicit trading occur, are regarded as risk areas. The author notes that responsible supply chain management ensures that minerals are risk-free and that the country where the resource comes from benefits from taxes on these minerals to boost national revenue as opposed to ‘tainted minerals’ which could impact on domestic income, facilitate rights abuse and fund crisis in areas that are prone to violence. Risk-free minerals also create an opportunity for economic growth and poverty reduction , especially in developing resource-rich countries.