Analytical Tools to Constrain the Origin of Minerals

Dear Colleagues,

As a result of an increasing awareness of the social and environmental conditions under which raw materials are extracted and processed, consumers and the general public show a growing interest in getting information on the origin of raw materials used to manufacture goods for daily life. This particularly applies to mineral commodities that are sourced from conflict-affected and high-risk areas. The OECD Due Dilligence Guidance for Responsible Mineral Supply Chains has been developed to address this issue and to help companies respect human rights and avoid contributing to conflict through their sourcing decisions (OECD, 2016). A basic requirement of this guidance concerning companies’ due diligence within responsible supply chains is the verification of the origin of minerals. This is usually realized by the implementation of traceability measures based on documentation and labeling of mineral shipments, which then serve as a proof of origin. However, those approaches can be easily manipulated and hence are highly suceptible to fraud attempts. Analytical methods applied on minerals could close this loophole, as they can serve as an additional and independent tool for the verification of mineral origin.

The scope of this Special Issue is the presentation of analytical methods and statistical data evaluation approaches to constrain the origin of all kinds of economically relevant minerals, including commodities such as gold or gemstones.

OECD (2016), OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas: Third Edition, OECD Publishing, Paris. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264252479-en

Dr. Hans-Eike Gäbler
Guest Editor

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