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From VOA Learning English, |
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this is the Economics Report. |
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Researchers have produced a new map of mining areas |
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in the Democratic Republic of Congo. |
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The map shows mines under the control of |
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the Congolese army and armed groups. |
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The study suggests that the top conflict mineral |
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in the area is now gold. |
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A Belgian group, |
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the International Peace Information Service (IPIS), |
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carried out the study in partnership |
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with the DRC registry of mines. |
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The researchers found that armed groups were involved |
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in about 200 of the 800 mines they studied, |
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the Congolese army was involved at 265 mines. |
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The researchers reported that both the military |
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and the militias are taxing mine workers illegally. |
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The International Peace Information Service |
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carried out a similar survey in 2009. |
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Filip Hilgert was the lead researcher. |
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He told VOA the map they made 4 years ago is no longer correct. |
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He said many of the miners are now digging for gold, |
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and he said the armed groups are profiting much more |
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from gold than from other conflict minerals, |
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such as tin, tungsten and tantalum. |
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These minerals are often called the "three T's." |
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One reason for the change has been an increase |
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in the price of gold. |
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Another reason has been stronger international rules |
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for mineral imports. |
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The United States Congress passed legislation |
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to fight the trade of conflict minerals. |
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Mr Hilgert says such efforts have had a big effect |
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on trade in the three T's, |
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but it has not effected the gold trade. |
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Judith Sargentini is a member of the European parliament. |
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She has been campaigning for a European law on conflict minerals. |
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She notes that gold like diamonds |
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is easy to transport in small amounts, |
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that explains why it is hard to know where it was mined. |
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The German geological institute BGR |
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has collected minerals from hundreds of mines in Rwanda. |
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The collections could be used to prove |
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whether a sample of minerals came from a conflict area. |
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But Judith Sargentini suggests |
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that geophysical tests will not work. |
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She say buyers need to know about their suppliers. |
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"You cannot solve every trade in a commodity by trying |
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to find out what the geological background of a material is. |
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It shows that you need, first of all, |
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a due diligence supply chain, |
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and second of all, |
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initiatives that lead to fairtrade gold mining," said Sargentini. |
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Due diligence in this case means knowing |
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and being about to trust your supplier. |
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And that is the Economics Report for VOA Learning English. |
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I'm Mario Ritter. |