D Block Metals takes our responsibility seriously for the environment, our employees, our local community, and the global community. Since we began operation in January 2012, we have fully supported the position of the Responsible Business Alliance (RBA); formerly EICC (Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition), the Global e-Sustainability Initiative (GeSI), and the Tantalum-Niobium International Study Center (TIC) 

To promote and ensure the exclusive use of responsibly sourced tantalum, D Block Metals commits to: 

• The “OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas” and more specifically the “Global Responsible Sourcing Standard for Mineral Supply Chains” will be the foundational documents to assess our management system and our suppliers to ensure responsible minerals sourcing from conflict regions that may facilitate serious gross human rights abuses such as any forms of torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, forced labor or child labor, sexual violence, war crimes or other serious violations of international law, crime against humanity or genocide.  

• Strictly adhering to the guidelines set forth in the Dodd-Frank Act as well as Regulation (EU) 2017/821 as they directly influence our policies concerning conflict minerals and their sources. 

• Communicating our sourcing policies to all suppliers regarding our requirements pertaining, but not limited to; serious human rights abuses associated with the extraction, transport, or trade of minerals; zero-tolerance of support to non-state armed groups (including public or private security forces); zero-tolerance of bribery or fraudulent distortion of the origins of minerals; and zero-tolerance of money laundering and payments of taxes, fees, or royalties to any party other than the host government.  If any upstream supplier is found to be performing any of the activities, D Block Metals will immediately suspend and/or end its engagement with said entity. 

• Our suppliers are expected to conduct their own due diligence on the matters mentioned above per RMI/RMAP standards. This is communicated by sharing our policy with all new suppliers and including our policy in our purchasing documents. 

• Continued cooperation with the RBA’s Responsible Mineral Initiative (RMI) through Responsible Minerals Assessment Process (RMAP). 

• Establishing policies to ensure we adhere to international transportation regulations for class-7 materials and only buy materials from companies who objectively prove compliance with the guidelines. 

• D Block commits to exclusively sourcing exempt tantalum scrap