Apple accused of using smuggled DRC minerals

The DRC Government is considering legal action against Apple in France and the US after accusing the tech giant of using ‘illegally exploited’ minerals, its lawyers said. In April, the DRC's Paris-based lawyers said Apple had purchased key minerals smuggled from the DRC into neighbouring Rwanda, where they were laundered and ‘integrated into the global supply chain’, an AFP report on the Barron's site says. Lawyer William Bourdon said that after receiving a formal notice, Apple had given only a ‘terse’ response that could be considered ‘a form of contempt, cynicism and arrogance’. The government's lawyers were meeting in Kinshasa to discuss strategic options for the case, and held talks with President Felix Tshisekedi. ‘The legal options are on the table’ for both France and the US, Bourdon said, adding that other challenges could be lodged in countries ‘on all the continents’. The DRC is rich in tantalum, tin, tungsten and gold which are used in producing smartphones and other electronic devices.