Glossary term

metals

EU Conflict Minerals Regulation material-scope term for metals containing or consisting of tin, tantalum, tungsten or gold.

1 official sourceSingle-source term

What does metals mean?

This is the metals-side material-scope gate for EU conflict-minerals due diligence. It keeps processed metal scope separate from ores/concentrates, recycled-metal claims, by-products, and downstream product evidence.

Source context

North America critical-minerals context: U.S. sources use designation/list logic under 30 U.S.C. § 1606 and the Federal Register 2022 list; Canada Income Tax Act section 127.49 uses qualifying material and qualifying mineral activity for a tax-credit context. Keep these source layers separate from EU CRMA critical/strategic raw material and EU conflict-minerals definitions.

Official definitions by source

EU Conflict Minerals

Regulation (EU) 2017/821 laying down supply chain due diligence obligations for Union importers of tin, tantalum and tungsten, their ores, and gold originating from conflict-affected and high-risk areas

metals containing or consisting of tin, tantalum, tungsten or gold, as listed in Part B of Annex I

Article 2 definitions for EU conflict-minerals due diligence. Source-specific to tin, tantalum, tungsten, their ores, and gold.

Reference: Article 2, point (b)

View official source

Practical application

Implementation records should capture the metal-scope record, Annex I Part B link, tin/tantalum/tungsten/gold content, metal form, supplier or importer record, smelter/refiner reference, recycled-metal status where claimed, and product/component link.

Minespider commentary

Conflict-minerals metals is a processed-material scope control: it should prevent teams from treating any metal trace, recycled input, or final-product component as automatically covered in the same way.

Common confusions

The metals definition is not the same as the minerals definition for ores, concentrates, and gold.
A recycled-metal claim has its own Article 2 definition and exclusion boundary.
A downstream product containing a metal still needs evidence tying material scope to the relevant supply-chain records.