The Securities and Exchange Commission has postponed the
announcement of its final rules on conflict minerals, the Jewelers Vigilance
Committee announced April 11.

The rules, originally scheduled to be announced April 15,
will now be announced sometime between August and December.

The new regulations on “conflict minerals,” which have been
defined to include gold mined in certain areas of the Democratic Republic of
Congo, were mandated as part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer
Protection Act, which passed Congress July 21. On December 15, the SEC  announced draft rules that would have
required public companies do extensive reporting of their “conflict mineral”
controls. In response, a coalition of industry associations submitted comments on
the new rule, arguing the necessary infrastructure to control Congolese gold
“does not yet exist.”

The new rule has a direct impact only on jewelers that are
public or part of public companies and that use the minerals in manufacturing
or contract to have the goods manufactured. Jewelry companies possibly impacted
include Walmart, Signet Jewelers, Tiffany & Co., Zale Corp., and companies
that are part of Berkshire-Hathaway, including Helzberg and Richline.

To view the SEC schedule, click here.

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