SD

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

 

 

FORM SD

 

 

SPECIALIZED DISCLOSURE REPORT

 

 

THE TJX COMPANIES, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

 

DELAWARE   1-4908   04-2207613

(State or other jurisdiction of

incorporation or organization)

 

(Commission

File Number)

 

(IRS Employer

Identification No.)

770 Cochituate Road, Framingham, MA 01701

(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)

Scott Goldenberg

(508) 390-1000

(Name and telephone number, including area code, of the person to contact in connection with this report)

 

 

Check the appropriate box to indicate the rule pursuant to which this form is being filed, and provide the period to which the information in this form applies:

 

Rule 13p-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (17 CFR 240.13p-1) for the reporting period from January 1 to December 31, 2018

 

 

 


Section 1 - Conflict Minerals Disclosure

 

Item 1.01

Conflict Minerals Disclosure and Report

Conflict Minerals Disclosure

The Company has filed a Conflict Minerals Report, included as Exhibit 1.01 to this Form, and made this Form SD and the Conflict Minerals Report available on its website, www.tjx.com, in the Investors: Filings and Presentations/SEC filings section at: http://investor.tjx.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=118215&p=irol-sec.

Information appearing on www.tjx.com is not a part of, and is not incorporated by reference into, this Form SD.

 

Item 1.02

Exhibit

The Company is hereby filing its Conflict Minerals Report as Exhibit 1.01 to this Form.

Section 2 - Exhibits

 

Item 2.01

Exhibits

 

Exhibit
No.
  

Description

1.01    Conflict Minerals Report, as described in Items 1.01 and 1.02 of this Form.


SIGNATURE

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

 

THE TJX COMPANIES, INC.    
  /s/ Scott Goldenberg     Dated: May 31, 2019
  Scott Goldenberg    
  Senior Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer    
EX-1.01

Exhibit 1.01

The TJX Companies, Inc.

Conflict Minerals Report for the reporting period

from January 1, 2018 to December 31, 2018

Introduction

Under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Rule 13p-1 and Form SD (collectively, the Rule), public companies are required to report certain information when they manufacture or contract to manufacture products where specified minerals, defined as conflict minerals, are determined to be necessary to the functionality or production of those products. These minerals, which also are often referred to as 3TG, are columbite-tantalite (coltan), cassiterite and wolframite (including their derivatives, which for the purpose of the Rule are tin, tantalum, and tungsten) and gold. Companies are required to perform an assessment, referred to as a reasonable country of origin inquiry, or RCOI, to determine if the 3TG present in these products originated, or may have originated, in the region covered by the Rule, meaning the Democratic Republic of the Congo (referred to as the DRC) and the adjoining countries, consisting of Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic, the Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia (collectively with the DRC, the DRC Region). The Rule also provides that companies must perform additional diligence on the source and chain of custody of 3TG that originated in the DRC Region and are not from recycled or scrap sources, or that the company has reason to believe may have originated in the DRC Region and may not be from recycled or scrap sources.

Overview

The TJX Companies, Inc. (TJX or the Company) is an off-price retailer of apparel and home fashions with over 4,300 stores across three continents in nine countries, offering a rapidly changing assortment of merchandise, including apparel and home fashions. The Company’s strategies to acquire merchandise are intentionally flexible to allow the buying organization to react to frequently changing opportunities and trends in the market and to adjust how and what is acquired as well as when it is acquired.

Product Scoping; Reasonable Country of Origin Inquiry

Products acquired by TJX that TJX does not manufacture or “contract to manufacture” (as described in the Rule) are outside of the scope of the Rule and this Report. A portion of the products sold by TJX could be in scope, which, under the Rule and Securities and Exchange Commission guidance, depends on whether a product contains 3TG, the degree of influence exercised by TJX over the materials, parts, ingredients, or components included in the product and whether the 3TG is necessary to the functionality or production of the product. The portion of products sold by TJX that it believes could be considered to be in scope under the Rule are referred to in this Report as In-scope Products. In part because of the geographic diversity and changing nature of TJX’s product mix, the In-scope Products reflect a changing variety of complicated supply chains of many different vendors, with a number of third parties between the original source of any raw materials, the manufacturer, and TJX. TJX does not own or control manufacturing facilities, smelters, or mines and believes that it is at least several layers removed from the mining of any minerals from a specific mine and from any smelter or refiner providing minerals for In-scope Products.

For its RCOI, TJX used the management systems contemplated by Step One of the OECD Guidance (defined below) and the vendor engagement process contemplated by Step Two of the OECD Guidance. These steps and the related activities are further discussed below under “Description of Diligence Design and Diligence Performed.”

To determine whether any products might have been sourced from the DRC region, TJX used the Conflict Minerals Reporting Template (referred to as the CMRT in this Report) developed by the Responsible Minerals Initiative, or RMI, to survey vendors that it believed potentially supplied In-scope Products (referred to in this Report as Covered Vendors) with questions about their 3TG use and supply chain. The Company assessed the responses according to a set of written risk-based evaluation criteria established by the Company relating to the completeness and reliability of the responses. For example, the Company considered a response to be incomplete and to require more information from the Covered Vendor if it indicated that it sourced only from outside the DRC region but did not provide information about its smelters as support for that conclusion or did not provide sufficient information about its internal compliance program and diligence practices to support that conclusion.

 

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The Company was unable to determine the origin of at least a portion of the necessary 3TG in its In-scope Products. It performed additional diligence, as described below.

Description of Diligence Design and Diligence Performed

TJX’s diligence framework was designed to materially conform to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas (Third Edition), including the Supplement on Tin, Tantalum and Tungsten and the Supplement on Gold (the OECD Guidance). The OECD Guidance has established a five-step framework for due diligence as a basis for responsible global supply chain management of minerals from conflict-affected and high-risk areas. The headings below conform to the headings used in the OECD Guidance for each of the five steps.

Establish strong company management systems

Executive leadership of our 3TG compliance program rests with our SVP, Chief Risk and Compliance Officer. TJX has established a conflict minerals steering committee (the Committee) including the SVP, Chief Risk and Compliance Officer; the SVP, Internal Audit; a VP, Legal; and other representatives from the compliance/risk and legal functions, to implement and oversee its 3TG compliance program. The Company also consulted with specialist outside counsel to advise it in connection with its compliance efforts and reporting.

The Committee worked with leaders in various functions at the Company, including merchandising, compliance, legal, and internal audit, to review its diligence program and vendor training. Training was done through specific outreach relating to the Company’s 3TG compliance program and as a topic integrated with the Company’s more general established training programs, which included in-person compliance trainings conducted for certain vendors of the Company at various global locations.

The Committee also has developed a conflict minerals policy which, among other things, sets forth TJX’s expectations that its vendors not knowingly source 3TGs in a way that would benefit armed forces in the DRC region and that vendors cooperate in the diligence process, including by reaching out to their vendors, as necessary. TJX provides the policy to its vendors through a corporate vendor intranet and contractually requires its vendors to adhere to the policy via its purchase order terms and conditions. TJX does not use its policy to embargo responsible sourcing of 3TGs from the DRC region. The Company’s policy is available to the public on its website in the Responsibility: Responsible Business section of the TJX corporate website, www.tjx.com. Information appearing on www.tjx.com is not a part of, and is not incorporated by reference into, this Conflict Minerals Report or the Form SD of which it is a part.

The website page on which the policy is posted includes a grievance mechanism relating to issues concerning 3TG, among others, indicating that concerns can be reported to the Company’s Chief Compliance Officer at complianceofficer@tjx.com. Compliance concerns can also be reported through the reporting mechanism in the TJX Global Code of Conduct. This mechanism includes contacting the Company’s Chief Compliance Officer at complianceofficer@tjx.com, using the established helpline, or other contacts included in the Contacts and Reporting section of the Global Code of Conduct.

Additionally, TJX maintains a company-wide document retention policy, which extends to the documents accumulated in performing due diligence for this Report. The required retention period for such documents is at least five years.

Identify and assess risk in the supply chain

As discussed under “Product Scoping; Reasonable Country of Origin Inquiry,” TJX used a survey process to request supply chain information from the Covered Vendors to assess the sourcing of its products. TJX used the CMRT and, to the extent required, made multiple follow-up requests to work to obtain complete and reliable responses from the Covered Vendors. TJX also provided supplementary instructional materials to help Covered Vendors understand and complete the CMRT, as well as to understand the Company’s conflict minerals policy. As part of this process, TJX communicated its expectations that Covered Vendors cooperate with the Company’s compliance efforts and, as necessary, reach out to third parties within their own supply chains to collect relevant information.

TJX evaluated the information provided by each Covered Vendor determined to be in scope. If the other information provided was determined to be complete and reliable under the Company’s established protocol, TJX reviewed the Covered

 

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Vendor’s smelter and refiner information. TJX compared smelters and refiners identified in the Covered Vendors’ responses against lists of facilities certified as Conformant (as defined in the Appendix) or the equivalent with the Responsible Minerals Assurance Process assessment protocols, or RMAP, to help determine if the identified facility was a smelter or refiner and to determine if the Covered Vendors’ 3TG minerals were sourced from mines that did not finance or benefit armed groups in the DRC region. If the information provided by a Covered Vendor was determined to be incomplete or unreliable under the Company’s protocol, TJX considered the information insufficient for a reliable evaluation of that Covered Vendor’s 3TG supply chain.

Design and implement a strategy to respond to identified risks

Using the assessment protocol described above, TJX categorized the responses to identify Covered Vendors who provided responses that were deemed insufficient for a reliable analysis, including because they provided incomplete information. To mitigate sourcing risk, TJX engaged in the vendor communications and follow-up process described above. The Committee briefed representatives of TJX management, including members of its senior executive team, on its findings and risk assessment.

In addition, to the extent that identified smelters and refiners are not listed as Conformant, the Company seeks to exercise leverage over and encourage the smelters and refiners to become Conformant through its membership in the RMI. Among other things, the RMI conducts outreach to non-Conformant smelters and refiners. The Company also utilizes information provided by the RMI to its members to monitor smelter and refiner improvement.

Carry out independent third-party audits of supply chain due diligence at identified points in the supply chain

In connection with its due diligence, the Company utilized and relied on information made available by the RMI concerning independent third-party audits of smelters and refiners to assess smelter and refiner due diligence and to determine whether smelters and refiners are Conformant. Due to its position in the supply chain, the Company does not directly audit smelters and refiners. However, it supports independent third-party audits through its continued membership in the RMI.

Report on supply chain due diligence

The Company prepared and filed a Form SD and this Report to publicly report the results of its supply chain due diligence, and it does so on an annual basis.

In-Scope Products and Results of Diligence

The Company determined that a portion of its products in apparel, including jewelry, and home fashions, could be considered to be in-scope under the Rule.

Through the RCOI and due diligence processes described above on the Company’s Covered Vendors, the Company compiled a list of 301 validated smelters and refiners, meaning the smelter or refiner was included on the CMRT’s Smelter Look-up tab list. Of those 301 smelters and refiners across all 3TG, 246 were listed as Conformant (82% of the total identified), including 100 for gold (69% of applicable smelters and refiners), 67 for tin (89%), 40 for tungsten (93%), and 39 for tantalum (100%) and 3 of the smelters or refiners were listed as Active (as defined below) by the RMI, in each case as of May 10, 2019. 21, or approximately 7%, of the Conformant smelters and refiners may have sourced from the DRC or an adjoining country, based on information made available by the RMI to its members. A list of the identified smelters and refiners that were identified by the Covered Vendors, together with the RMAP status and country of origin information, can be found in Appendix A.

Most of the Covered Vendors reviewed in the diligence process reported their information at a company level rather than at a product level (meaning that they reported the smelters and refiners that processed the 3TG in all of their products, rather than solely those that processed the 3TG in the products sold to the Company). It therefore generally was not feasible for the Company to connect identified smelters and refiners that were used to process 3TG with specific covered products.

Additional Risk Mitigation Efforts

The Company expects to take additional steps to refine its 3TG compliance program and enhance its due diligence measures for 2019 to further mitigate the risk that the 3TG in its covered products may support armed groups in the DRC region. These steps include, among others:

 

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Working to further increase the response rate for the next reporting cycle;

 

   

Engaging more directly with vendors to improve the quality of responses overall;

 

   

Continuing to remind vendors of the requirements under the Rule and the Company’s conflict minerals policy, including its expectations that all Covered Vendors cooperate with its diligence efforts; and

 

   

Continuing to refine its written Conflict Minerals Review and Action Plan and the protocols to effect this plan.

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Conflict Minerals Report contains “forward-looking statements” intended to qualify for the safe harbor from liability established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks, uncertainties and potentially inaccurate assumptions. Such statements give the Company’s current expectations or forecasts of future events; they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. TJX has generally identified such statements by using words indicative of the future such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “forecast,” “intend,” “looking forward,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “project,” “should,” “target,” “will” and “would” or any variations of these words or other words with similar meanings. All statements that address activities, events or developments that TJX intends, expects or believes may occur in the future are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or Exchange Act. These “forward-looking statements” may relate to such matters as the Company’s future actions and results and the outcome of diligence efforts.

The Company cannot guarantee that the results and other expectations expressed, anticipated or implied in any forward-looking statement will be realized. The risks set forth under Item 1A of the Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 3, 2019 describe major risks to TJX’s business. A variety of factors including these risks could cause actual results and other expectations to differ materially from the anticipated results or other expectations expressed, anticipated or implied in the Company’s forward-looking statements. If known or unknown risks materialize, or if underlying assumptions prove inaccurate, actual results could differ materially from past results and those anticipated, estimated or projected in the forward-looking statements. You should bear this in mind as you consider forward-looking statements.

The Company’s forward-looking statements speak only as of the dates on which they are made, and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether to reflect new information, future events or otherwise. You are advised, however, to consult any further disclosures TJX may make in future reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission, on the Company’s website, or otherwise.

 

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Appendix A

List of Identified Smelters and Refiners; Country of Origin Information

 

Smelter or Refiner

  

Smelter Country

  

RMAP Conformant

Gold Refiners      
Abington Reldan Metals, LLC    USA    No
Advanced Chemical Company    USA    Yes
Aida Chemical Industries Co., Ltd.    Japan    Yes
Al Etihad Gold LLC    United Arab Emirates    Yes
Allgemeine Gold-und Silberscheideanstalt A.G.    Germany    Yes
Almalyk Mining and Metallurgical Complex (AMMC)    Uzbekistan    Yes
AngloGold Ashanti Corrego do Sitio Mineracao    Brazil    Yes
Argor-Heraeus S.A.    Switzerland    Yes
Asahi Pretec Corp.    Japan    Yes
Asahi Refining Canada Ltd.    Canada    Yes
Asahi Refining USA Inc.    USA    Yes
Asaka Riken Co., Ltd.    Japan    Yes
Atasay Kuyumculuk Sanayi Ve Ticaret A.S.    Turkey    No
AU Traders and Refiners    South Africa    Yes
Aurubis AG    Germany    Yes
Bangalore Refinery    India    No
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (Central Bank of the Philippines)    Philippines    Yes
Boliden AB    Sweden    Yes
C. Hafner GmbH + Co. KG    Germany    Yes
Caridad    Mexico    No
Cendres + Metaux S.A.    Switzerland    Yes
Chimet S.p.A.    Italy    Yes
Chugai Mining    Japan    Active
Daejin Indus Co., Ltd.    Korea    Yes
Daye Non-Ferrous Metals Mining Ltd.    China    No
Degussa Sonne / Mond Goldhandel GmbH    Germany    No
DODUCO GmbH    Germany    Yes
Dowa    Japan    Yes
DSC (Do Sung Corporation)    Korea    Yes
Eco-System Recycling Co., Ltd.    Japan    Yes
Elemetal Refining, LLC    USA    No
Emirates Gold DML3    United Arab Emirates    Yes
Fidelity Printers and Refiners Ltd.    Zimbabwe    No
GCC Gujrat Gold Centre Pvt. Ltd.    India    No
Geib Refining Corporation    USA    Yes
Gold Refinery of Zijin Mining Group Co., Ltd.    China    Yes
Great Wall Precious Metals Co., Ltd. of CBPM    China    No
Guangdong Jinding Gold Limited    China    No
Guoda Safina High-Tech Environmental Refinery Co., Ltd.    China    No

 

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Smelter or Refiner

  

Smelter Country

  

RMAP Conformant

Hangzhou Fuchunjiang Smelting Co., Ltd.    China    No
HeeSung Metal Ltd.    Korea    Yes
Heimerle + Meule GmbH    Germany, Austria    Yes
Heraeus Metals Hong Kong Ltd.    China    Yes
Heraeus Precious Metals GmbH & Co. KG    Germany    Yes
Hunan Chenzhou Mining Co., Ltd.    China    No
HwaSeong CJ CO., LTD.    Korea    No
Inner Mongolia Qiankun Gold and Silver Refinery Share Co., Ltd.    China    Yes
Ishifuku Metal Industry Co., Ltd.    Japan    Yes
Istanbul Gold Refinery    Turkey    Yes
Italpreziosi    Italy    Yes
Japan Mint    Japan    Yes
Jiangxi Copper Co., Ltd.    China    Yes
JSC Ekaterinburg Non-Ferrous Metal Processing Plant    Russia    No
JSC Uralelectromed    Russia    Yes
JX Nippon Mining & Metals Co., Ltd.    Japan    Yes
Kaloti Precious Metals    United Arab Emirates    No
Kazakhmys Smelting LLC    Kazakhstan    No
Kazzinc    Kazakhstan    Yes
Kennecott Utah Copper LLC    USA    Yes
KGHM Polska Miedz Spolka Akcyjna    Poland    Active
Kojima Chemicals Co., Ltd.    Japan    Yes
Korea Zinc Co., Ltd.    Korea    Yes
Kyrgyzaltyn JSC    Kyrgyzstan    Yes
L3R Refinery—Glencore Canada Corporation    Canada    Yes
L’azurde Company For Jewelry    Saudi Arabia    No
Lingbao Gold Co., Ltd.    China    No
Lingbao Jinyuan Tonghui Refinery Co., Ltd.    China    No
L’Orfebre S.A.    Andorra    Yes
LS-NIKKO Copper Inc.    Korea    Yes
Luoyang Zijin Yinhui Gold Refinery Co., Ltd.    China    No
Marsam Metals    Brazil    Yes
Materion    USA    Yes
Matsuda Sangyo Co., Ltd.    Japan    Yes
Metalor Technologies (Hong Kong) Ltd.    China    Yes
Metalor Technologies (Singapore) Pte., Ltd.    Singapore    Yes
Metalor Technologies (Suzhou) Ltd.    China    Yes
Metalor Technologies S.A.    Switzerland    Yes
Metalor USA Refining Corporation    USA    Yes
Metalurgica Met-Mex Penoles S.A. De C.V.    Mexico    Yes
Mitsubishi Materials Corporation    Japan    Yes
Mitsui Mining and Smelting Co., Ltd.    Japan    Yes
MMTC-PAMP India Pvt., Ltd.    India    Yes
Modeltech Sdn Bhd    Malaysia    No

 

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Smelter or Refiner

  

Smelter Country

  

RMAP Conformant

Morris and Watson    New Zealand    No
Morris and Watson Gold Coast    Australia    No
Moscow Special Alloys Processing Plant    Russia    Yes
Nadir Metal Rafineri San. Ve Tic. A.S.    Turkey    Yes
Navoi Mining and Metallurgical Combinat    Uzbekistan    No
Nihon Material Co., Ltd.    Japan    Yes
Ogussa Osterreichische Gold- und Silber-Scheideanstalt GmbH    Austria    Yes
Ohura Precious Metal Industry Co., Ltd.    Japan    Yes
OJSC “The Gulidov Krasnoyarsk Non-Ferrous Metals Plant” (OJSC Krastsvetmet)    Russia    Yes
OJSC Novosibirsk Refinery    Russia    Yes
PAMP S.A.    Switzerland    Yes
Pease & Curren    USA    No
Penglai Penggang Gold Industry Co., Ltd.    China    No
Planta Recuperadora de Metales SpA    Chile    Yes
Prioksky Plant of Non-Ferrous Metals    Russia    Yes
PT Aneka Tambang (Persero) Tbk    Indonesia    Yes
PX Precinox S.A.    Switzerland    Yes
Rand Refinery (Pty) Ltd.    South Africa    Yes
Refinery of Seemine Gold Co., Ltd.    China    No
REMONDIS PMR B.V.+A78:E79A3A77:F78    Netherlands    Yes
Royal Canadian Mint    Canada    Yes
SAAMP    France    Yes
Sabin Metal Corp.    USA    No
Safimet S.p.A    Italy    Yes
SAFINA A.S.    Czech Republic    No
Sai Refinery    India    No
Samduck Precious Metals    Korea    Yes
Samwon Metals Corp.    Korea    No
SAXONIA Edelmetalle GmbH    Germany    Yes
Schone Edelmetaal B.V.    Netherlands    No
SEMPSA Joyeria Plateria S.A.    Spain    Yes
Shandong Tiancheng Biological Gold Industrial Co., Ltd.    China    No
Shandong Zhaojin Gold & Silver Refinery Co., Ltd.    China    Yes
Sichuan Tianze Precious Metals Co., Ltd.    China    Yes
Singway Technology Co., Ltd.    Taiwan    Yes
SOE Shyolkovsky Factory of Secondary Precious Metals    Russia    Yes
Solar Applied Materials Technology Corp.    Taiwan    Yes
State Research Institute Center for Physical Sciences and Technology    Lithuania    No
Sudan Gold Refinery    Sudan    No
Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Ltd.    Japan    Yes
SungEel HiMetal Co., Ltd.    Korea    Yes
T.C.A S.p.A    Italy    Yes
Tanaka Kikinzoku Kogyo K.K.    Japan    Yes

 

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Smelter or Refiner

  

Smelter Country

  

RMAP Conformant

The Refinery of Shandong Gold Mining Co., Ltd.    China    Yes
Tokuriki Honten Co., Ltd.    Japan    Yes
Tongling Nonferrous Metals Group Co., Ltd.    China    No
Tony Goetz NV    Belgium    No
TOO Tau-Ken-Altyn    Kazakhstan    No
Torecom    Korea    Yes
Umicore Brasil Ltda.    Brazil    Yes
Umicore Precious Metals Thailand    Thailand    Yes
Umicore S.A. Business Unit Precious Metals Refining    Belgium    Yes
United Precious Metal Refining, Inc.    USA    Yes
Universal Precious Metals Refining Zambia    Zambia    No
Valcambi S.A.    Switzerland    Yes
Western Australian Mint (T/a The Perth Mint)    Australia    Yes
WIELAND Edelmetalle GmbH    Germany    Yes
Yamamoto Precious Metal Co., Ltd.    Japan    Yes
Yokohama Metal Co., Ltd.    Japan    Yes
Yunnan Copper Industry Co., Ltd.    China    No
Zhongyuan Gold Smelter of Zhongjin Gold Corporation    China    Yes
Tantalum Smelters      
Asaka Riken Co., Ltd.    Japan    Yes
Changsha South Tantalum Niobium Co., Ltd.    China    Yes
D Block Metals, LLC    USA    Yes
Exotech Inc.    USA    Yes
F & X Electro-Materials Ltd.    China    Yes
FIR Metals & Resource Ltd.    China    Yes
Global Advanced Metals Aizu    Japan    Yes
Global Advanced Metals Boyertown    USA    Yes
Guangdong Rising Rare Metals-EO Materials Ltd.    China    Yes
Guangdong Zhiyuan New Material Co., Ltd.    China    Yes
H.C. Starck Co., Ltd.    Thailand    Yes
H.C. Starck Hermsdorf GmbH    Germany    Yes
H.C. Starck Inc.    USA    Yes
H.C. Starck Ltd.    Japan    Yes
H.C. Starck Smelting GmbH & Co. KG    Germany    Yes
H.C. Starck Tantalum and Niobium GmbH    Germany    Yes
Hengyang King Xing Lifeng New Materials Co., Ltd.    China    Yes
Jiangxi Dinghai Tantalum & Niobium Co., Ltd.    China    Yes
Jiangxi Tuohong New Raw Material    China    Yes
JiuJiang JinXin Nonferrous Metals Co., Ltd.    China    Yes
Jiujiang Tanbre Co., Ltd.    China    Yes
Jiujiang Zhongao Tantalum & Niobium Co., Ltd.    China    Yes
KEMET Blue Metals    Mexico    Yes
KEMET Blue Powder    USA    Yes

 

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Smelter or Refiner

  

Smelter Country

  

RMAP Conformant

LSM Brasil S.A.    Brazil    Yes
Metallurgical Products India Pvt., Ltd.    India    Yes
Mineracao Taboca S.A.    Brazil    Yes
Mitsui Mining and Smelting Co., Ltd.    Japan    Yes
Ningxia Orient Tantalum Industry Co., Ltd.    China    Yes
NPM Silmet AS    Estonia    Yes
Power Resources Ltd.    Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of    Yes
QuantumClean    USA    Yes
Resind Industria e Comercio Ltda.    Brazil    Yes
RFH Tantalum Smeltry Co., Ltd.    China    Yes
Solikamsk Magnesium Works OAO    Russia    Yes
Taki Chemical Co., Ltd.    Japan    Yes
Telex Metals    USA    Yes
Ulba Metallurgical Plant JSC    Kazakhstan    Yes
XinXing Haorong Electronic Material Co., Ltd.    China    Yes
Tin Smelters      
Alpha    USA    Yes
An Vinh Joint Stock Mineral Processing Company    Vietnam    No
Chenzhou Yunxiang Mining and Metallurgy Co., Ltd.    China    Yes
Chifeng Dajingzi Tin Industry Co., Ltd.    China    Yes
China Tin Group Co., Ltd.    China    Yes
CNMC (Guangxi) PGMA Co., Ltd.    China    No
CV Dua Sekawan    Indonesia    Yes
CV Gita Pesona    Indonesia    Yes
CV United Smelting    Indonesia    Yes
CV Venus Inti Perkasa    Indonesia    Yes
Dowa    Japan    Yes
Electro-Mechanical Facility of the Cao Bang Minerals & Metallurgy Joint Stock Company    Vietnam    No
EM Vinto    Bolivia (Plurinational State of)    Yes
Estanho de Rondonia S.A.    Brazil    No
Fenix Metals    Poland    Yes
Gejiu Fengming Metallurgy Chemical Plant    China    Yes
Gejiu Kai Meng Industry and Trade LLC    China    Yes
Gejiu Non-Ferrous Metal Processing Co., Ltd.    China    Yes
Gejiu Yunxin Nonferrous Electrolysis Co., Ltd.    China    Yes
Gejiu Zili Mining And Metallurgy Co., Ltd.    China    No
Guangdong Hanhe Non-Ferrous Metal Co., Ltd.    China    Yes
Guanyang Guida Nonferrous Metal Smelting Plant    China    Yes
HuiChang Hill Tin Industry Co., Ltd.    China    Yes
Huichang Jinshunda Tin Co., Ltd.    China    Yes
Jiangxi New Nanshan Technology Ltd.    China    Yes

 

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Smelter or Refiner

  

Smelter Country

  

RMAP Conformant

Magnu’s Minerais Metais e Ligas Ltda.    Brazil    Yes
Malaysia Smelting Corporation (MSC)    Malaysia    Yes
Melt Metais e Ligas S.A.    Brazil    Yes
Metallic Resources, Inc.    USA    Yes
Metallo Belgium N.V.    Belgium    Yes
Metallo Spain S.L.U.    Spain    Yes
Mineracao Taboca S.A.    Brazil    Yes
Minsur    Peru    Yes
Mitsubishi Materials Corporation    Japan    Yes
Modeltech Sdn Bhd    Malaysia    Yes
Nghe Tinh Non-Ferrous Metals Joint Stock Company    Vietnam    No
O.M. Manufacturing (Thailand) Co., Ltd.    Thailand    Yes
O.M. Manufacturing Philippines, Inc.    Philippines    Yes
Operaciones Metalurgical S.A.    Bolivia (Plurinational State of)    Yes
PT Aries Kencana Sejahtera    Indonesia    Yes
PT Artha Cipta Langgeng    Indonesia    Yes
PT ATD Makmur Mandiri Jaya    Indonesia    Yes
PT Babel Inti Perkasa    Indonesia    Yes
PT Bangka Prima Tin    Indonesia    Yes
PT Bangka Serumpun    Indonesia    Yes
PT Bangka Tin Industry    Indonesia    Yes
PT Belitung Industri Sejahtera    Indonesia    Yes
PT Bukit Timah    Indonesia    Yes
PT DS Jaya Abadi    Indonesia    Yes
PT Inti Stania Prima    Indonesia    Yes
PT Kijang Jaya Mandiri    Indonesia    Yes
PT Menara Cipta Mulia    Indonesia    Yes
PT Mitra Stania Prima    Indonesia    Yes
PT Panca Mega Persada    Indonesia    Yes
PT Premium Tin    Indonesia    Yes
PT Prima Timah Utama    Indonesia    Yes
PT Rajehan Ariq    Indonesia    Yes
PT Refined Bangka Tin    Indonesia    Yes
PT Sariwiguna Binasentosa    Indonesia    Yes
PT Stanindo Inti Perkasa    Indonesia    Yes
PT Sukses Inti Makmur    Indonesia    Yes
PT Sumber Jaya Indah    Indonesia    Yes
PT Timah Tbk Kundur    Indonesia    Yes
PT Timah Tbk Mentok    Indonesia    Yes
PT Tinindo Inter Nusa    Indonesia    Yes
PT Tommy Utama    Indonesia    Yes
Resind Industria e Comercio Ltda.    Brazil    Yes
Rui Da Hung    Taiwan    Yes
Soft Metais Ltda.    Brazil    Yes

 

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Smelter or Refiner

  

Smelter Country

  

RMAP Conformant

Super Ligas    Brazil    No
Thaisarco    Thailand    Yes
Tuyen Quang Non-Ferrous Metals Joint Stock Company    Vietnam    No
White Solder Metalurgia e Mineracao Ltda.    Brazil    Yes
Yunnan Chengfeng Non-ferrous Metals Co., Ltd.    China    Yes
Yunnan Tin Company Limited    China    Yes
Tungsten Smelters      
A.L.M.T. TUNGSTEN Corp.    Japan    Yes
ACL Metais Eireli    Brazil    Yes
Asia Tungsten Products Vietnam Ltd.    Vietnam    Yes
Chenzhou Diamond Tungsten Products Co., Ltd.    China    Yes
Chongyi Zhangyuan Tungsten Co., Ltd.    China    Yes
Fujian Jinxin Tungsten Co., Ltd.    China    Yes
Ganzhou Haichuang Tungsten Co., Ltd.    China    Yes
Ganzhou Huaxing Tungsten Products Co., Ltd.    China    Yes
Ganzhou Jiangwu Ferrotungsten Co., Ltd.    China    Yes
Ganzhou Seadragon W & Mo Co., Ltd.    China    Yes
Global Tungsten & Powders Corp.    USA    Yes
Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten Co., Ltd.    China    Yes
H.C. Starck GmbH    Germany    Yes
H.C. Starck Smelting GmbH & Co. KG    Germany    Yes
Hunan Chenzhou Mining Co., Ltd.    China    Yes
Hunan Chuangda Vanadium Tungsten Co., Ltd. Wuji    China    Yes
Hunan Chunchang Nonferrous Metals Co., Ltd.    China    Yes
Hunan Litian Tungsten Industry Co., Ltd.    China    Active
Hydrometallurg, JSC    Russia    Yes
Japan New Metals Co., Ltd.    Japan    Yes
Jiangwu H.C. Starck Tungsten Products Co., Ltd.    China    Yes
Jiangxi Dayu Longxintai Tungsten Co., Ltd.    China    No
Jiangxi Gan Bei Tungsten Co., Ltd.    China    Yes
Jiangxi Minmetals Gao’an Non-ferrous Metals Co., Ltd.    China    No
Jiangxi Tonggu Non-ferrous Metallurgical & Chemical Co., Ltd.    China    Yes
Jiangxi Xinsheng Tungsten Industry Co., Ltd.    China    Yes
Jiangxi Yaosheng Tungsten Co., Ltd.    China    Yes
Kennametal Fallon    USA    Yes
Kennametal Huntsville    USA    Yes
Malipo Haiyu Tungsten Co., Ltd.    China    Yes
Masan Tungsten Chemical LLC (MTC)    Vietnam    Yes
Moliren Ltd.    Russia    Yes
Niagara Refining LLC    USA    Yes
Philippine Chuangxin Industrial Co., Inc.    Philippines    Yes
South-East Nonferrous Metal Company Limited of Hengyang City    China    Yes
Tejing (Vietnam) Tungsten Co., Ltd.    Vietnam    Yes

 

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Smelter or Refiner

  

Smelter Country

  

RMAP Conformant

Unecha Refractory Metals Plant    Russia    Yes
Wolfram Bergbau und Hutten AG    Austria    Yes
Woltech Korea Co., Ltd.    Korea    Yes
Xiamen Tungsten (H.C.) Co., Ltd.    China    Yes
Xiamen Tungsten Co., Ltd.    China    Yes
Xinfeng Huarui Tungsten & Molybdenum New Material Co., Ltd.    China    Yes
Xinhai Rendan Shaoguan Tungsten Co., Ltd.    China    Yes

The Company notes the following in connection with the information contained in the foregoing table:

(a) The smelters and refiners listed in the table were identified by the Covered Vendors as potentially being part of the Company’s 2018 supply chain. However, not all of the included smelters and refiners may be part of the Company’s supply chain. In addition, the smelters and refiners listed above may not be all of the smelters and refiners in its supply chain, as some Covered Vendors indicated that they were unable to identify all of the smelters and refiners used to process the necessary 3TG content contained in their products and not all of the Covered Vendors responded to the Company’s inquiries.

(b) All compliance status information in the table is as of May 13, 2019.

(c) “Conformant” means that a smelter or refiner was listed as conformant with the RMAP assessment protocols, including those indicated as “Re-audit in progress.” Included smelters and refiners were not necessarily Conformant for all or part of 2018 and may not maintain that status in any future period.

(d) “Active” means that the smelter or refiner is a participant in the RMAP and has committed to undergo an RMAP assessment.

(e) “No” means that the smelter or refiner is not Conformant or Active.

(f) The RMAP status and smelter or refiner country location indicated in the table is based on information published by the RMI, without independent verification by the Company.

Country of Origin Information

The countries of origin of the 3TG processed by the Conformant smelters and refiners listed in the table above may have included the countries in the categories listed below, as well as possibly other countries, based on information made available by the RMI to its members. The Company has not been able to reliably determine the country of origin of any of the other smelters or refiners listed in the table. The countries below are categorized by risk level.

L1—Countries that are not identified as conflict regions or plausible areas of smuggling or export from the DRC and its nine adjoining countries: Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Benin, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Botswana, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Cyprus, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Finland, Georgia, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Guyana, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mali, Mauritius, Mauritania, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Myanmar, Namibia, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Slovakia, Solomon Islands, Spain, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, Togo, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States of America, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela and Zimbabwe.

L2—Countries that are known or plausible countries for smuggling, export out of region or transit of materials containing 3TG: Kenya, Mozambique and South Africa.

L3—The DRC region: Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.

DRC—The Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Alternatively, or in addition, some of the Conformant smelters and refiners may have sourced from recycled or scrap sources.

 

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