WASHINGTON – The State Department has released a document that guides commercial entities concerning the legislation involving conflict mineral requirements.

The Department says it is “critical” to “begin now to perform meaningful due diligence,” even though guidance could be revised after final regulations are issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission later this year.

State is encouraging firms to begin immediately to structure supply chain relationships in a responsible manner to encourage conflict-free trade, including conflict-free minerals sourced from the DRC and the Great Lakes region.

Conflict minerals include columbite-tantalite (coltan), cassiterite, gold, wolframite and derivatives.

Under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, certain persons who use these minerals must disclose to the SEC whether those minerals originated in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or a nearby country, where mining has aided in the finances ongoing civil war and related human rights violations.
The department specifically endorses the guidance issued by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The OECD framework includes the following: establish strong company management systems, identify and assess risk in the supply chain, design and implement a strategy to respond to identified risks, carry out independent third-party audit of supply chain due diligence at identified points in the supply chain, and report on supply chain due diligence.

TOKYO – The 90-day average orders at Japan-based semiconductor equipment manufacturers in June fell 11.3% from last year to ￥99.8 billion ($1.27 billion).

SAN JOSE – Bookings at North America-based semiconductor equipment manufacturers fell 10.3% year-over-year in June, a leading trade group said today.

STAMFORD, CT -- Worldwide PC shipments surpassed 85.2 million units in the second quarter of 2011, up 2.3% from the same period last year but below earlier forecast, according to preliminary results by Gartner.