Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD)+Chain of Custody/Traceability/Transparency System (Step 1.C.1)+F&X Electro-Materials Ltd.+2018
"We require every supplier of central African ore to provide all documents based on iTSCi/ITRI, EICC/GeSi requirements and OECD Guidance. Suppliers of South American ore must supply, at a minimum, certificates of origin, mining or trading license, export permits, custom clearance, and shipping documents. In addition, the origin and supplier must be known to F&X. We find it important to diligently follow documentation and risk management requirements for every purchase. For example, in 2018 many lots of tantalum mineral—that did not have adequate, proper documentations-- were offered for sale to F&X. In some cases the offers came from suppliers or mines for which we did not have adequate information. None of these materials were purchased by F&X, even at attractive prices, because of the possibility that they were conflict materials, illegally mined, or produced under inhuman conditions.
When ore is purchased, all documents are carefully checked. In case we have a problem, we contact iTSCi/ITRI without delay. If we have any doubt on validity of a supplier’s documents, we will consult iTSCi/ITRI immediately for their assessment. F&X pays close attention to iTSCi/ITRI incident reports, monthly reports, mine baselines and other useful documents. All of the documents above are studied carefully by the Management Team members then filed for reference in a computer database. This valuable information assists the company team in monitoring the chain of custody or traceability systems and helps to identify potential instances of fraud and irregularities." Chain of custody and traceability systems