Auditing to verify supply chain traceability is a critical element of conflict minerals management, and will be regardless of the final form of the SEC regulation and OECD program. From August to December 2010, The Elm Consulting Group International, LLC completed the first third-party audit/traceability engagements for tantalum. The audits resulted in the first “Conflict-Free Smelter” designation, covering locations in the US and Japan. The next round of audits by Elm – the first audit of its kind in the scrap industry – also resulted in “Conflict Free” status. The original program has been enhanced, leveraging cutting-edge information technology/artificial intelligence that may yield critical insight concerning conflict mineral provenance.

View the BusinessWire Press Release: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110110005235/en.

Even more information, including a summary of current conflict minerals supply chain traceability auditing programs, can be viewed at http://elmconsultinggroup.wordpress.com/