In October of this year, the Responsible Mineral Initiative released a free, standardized report template, EMRT (Extended Mineral reporting template) v1.0. The purpose of this report is to gather compliance documents about Mica and Cobalt to be used in due diligence.
In order to reduce costs and simplify supply chain surveying for downstream stakeholders, the EMRT was developed collaboratively by RMI members.
The EMRT facilitates the exchange of information, such as the country of origin and the processors used to process minerals, along the supply chain. As a result, the company will be able to perform its due diligence for ensuring a responsible supply chain of minerals, refiners, and processors from high-risk and conflict-affected areas.
EMRT focuses on the cobalt supply chain and natural mica supply chain at the moment. CMRT and EMRT are fundamentally different in that CMRT facilitates data exchange necessary for Dodd-Frank Act compliance through section 1502 of the Act. In the meantime, there are currently no regulatory requirements in place to ensure compliance for cobalt or mica.
In addition to being provided to the customers, completed EMRTs can be posted on the company’s website as a good practice measure. Currently, RMI does not collect EMRTs.
High-risk and conflict-affected areas are defined by the OECD as those with an armed conflict, widespread violence or other risks of harm to people. It can be an international or non-international conflict, involving two or more states, or it may be a liberating conflict. In high-risk areas, potential instabilities, institutional weaknesses, breakdowns in civil infrastructure, and widespread acts of violence are common.
Cobalt refiner due diligence standard Version 1.0 was developed jointly by RCI (Responsible Cobalt Initiative) and RMI (Responsible Mineral Initiative). The standard is in effect until December 31, 2021. A new version of the Cobalt refiner due diligence standard, Version 2.0, will take effect on January 1, 2022. According to the schedule of release, the next version of EMRT is expected to arrive in 2022.
