- Lawyers representing the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) claim they have evidence that Apple sources “blood minerals.”
- These minerals were spotted in the company’s local supply chain by Apple employees who were then fired, the lawyers allege.
- Apple denies funding any exploitative mining in conflict regions.
Worth nearly $3 trillion, Apple is embroiled in a lawsuit from the United States Government that alleges monopoly practices, and across the globe, lawyers representing the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) say they have “new evidence” that the tech giant is sourcing materials from conflict areas in the war-torn Central African nation.
The lawyers making the allegations are representing the government of the DRC directly, and have gathered alleged evidence from whistleblowers in the country that Apple is among several companies that are funding the mining of minerals and their smuggling out through Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi.
According to Reuters, the lawyers representing the country’s government wrote to Apple to find answers to questions they had about the situation, and about Apple’s supply chain. They apparently did not receive a response.
“The tech giant has remained silent and neither answered nor even acknowledged receipt of the questions,” the lawyers said in a statement, adding that new evidence has now come to light months after they sent the first message.
These lawyers, of Amsterdam & Partners LLP, told the media that people who worked on Apple’s material supply chain verification in the DRC were fired after they flagged the potential of “blood minerals” in the supply chain.
The DRC has seen sporadic conflict since the 1990s. Most recently, escalating violence in the East of the country from rebel groups saw the deployment of South African National Defence Force (SANDF) soldiers in February and May to aid the Congolese government’s efforts at stability.
It is believed that violence and ruin in the DRC is one of the world’s largest ongoing humanitarian crises, with over 6.9 million people being displaced by conflict.
In past official reports, Apple has denied any allegations involving armed groups or blood minerals.
“We found no reasonable basis for concluding that any of the smelters or refiners of 3TG determined to be in our supply chain as of December 31, 2023 directly or indirectly financed or benefited armed groups in the DRC or an adjoining country,” one report read.
It added that it knew where all of its smelters and refiners were in the supply chain, and that it even had independent third-party “conflict audits” to make sure no one was being exploited.
