Located in Carson City, Nevada, KEMET Blue Powder (KBP) Corporation, formerly Niotan Incorporated, is a capacitor-grade tantalum powder manufacturing facility. KBP maintains a full EICC/GeSi Conflict-Free Smelter (CFS) compliance program.
KBP utilizes a tantalum ore supply chain that is vertically integrated, closed-source, and entirely conflict-free. The source of ore comes from a mine in the Kisengo region of Katanga Province, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The Kisengo mine was the first to successfully implement the International Tin Research Institute Tin Supply Chain Initiative (iTSCi) Traceability and Due-Diligence System. Additionally, the site has been audited by iTSCi, the German Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR), and the social development consultancy Channel Research.
The Kisengo mine is managed by the Coopérative des Artisanaux Miniers du Congo (CDMC) under a clear set of rules. For instance, anyone below the age of 18 is not allowed to enter the mine. The cooperative minimizes the individual artisanal miner’s daily risk and efforts associated with finding sufficient ore to support his family. All of the miners share in the mine’s proceeds on a daily basis. The efforts of the cooperative also support a lean artisanal mining process by segregating the various steps, which increases output.
Conflict-free tantalum ore from the Kisengo Ore is transported to a newly created South African company, Tantalite Resources (TR), for processing into K-Salt, a necessary intermediate product in the manufacture of capacitor-grade tantalum powder. TR follows the guidelines published by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)(2011), OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-affected and High-Risk Areas, OECD Publishing (http://browse.oecdbookshop.org/oecd/pdfs/free/2011061e.pdf). TR strictly prohibits:
The procurement of unsubstantiated conflict-free material;
The procurement of material used to finance conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or an adjoining country.
After processing, conflict-free K-Salt is then transported to KBP for its final transformation into capacitor-grade tantalum powder. Both KBP and TR are currently undergoing EICC CFS audits, which are expected to be completed by the end of 2012.
Since the acquisition of Niotan Incorporated by KEMET Corporation in February 2012, KBP has ceased relationships with all non-CFS compliant raw material suppliers, and sources raw materials only from suppliers that are either CFS certified per the EICC/GeSI CFS Assessment Program or are awaiting the third party audit to complete their CFS certification.
KBP is in full compliance with Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Customer Protection Act, codified at 15 U.S.C. § 78m(p) (the “Act”) and Securities Exchange Commission’s regulations implanting the Act (codified at 17 C.F.R. Parts 240 and 249b). KBP fully supports the position of the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition (EICC), the Global e-Sustainability Initiative (GeSI), the Electronic Components, Assemblies and Materials Association (ECA) and the Tantalum-Niobium International Study Center (TIC) in avoiding the use of conflict minerals which directly or indirectly finance or benefit armed groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo or adjoining countries, in line with full compliance to the EICC’s Electronic Industry Code of Conduct.
Niotan 