"In 2010, the U.S. Congress passed the "Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, Section 1502" with the aim of ending the violent conflicts and human rights violations that continue in this region (DRC region), against the background that the proceeds from the sale of certain minerals (the so-called conflict minerals: tantalum, tin, tungsten, their ores, and gold) from the Democratic Republic of Congo and its neighboring states are used to finance armed groups. Under this law, publicly traded U.S. companies must disclose the extent to which their products contain conflict minerals.

The EU Conflict Minerals Regulation EU 2017/821 established extensive due diligence and verification requirements for companies that import conflict minerals into the EU above a certain volume threshold. The regulation has been valid in the EU since January 2021. However, Kappa optronics GmbH does not purchase the conflict minerals themselves or their derivative metals directly from metal smelters or other sources in the conflict region and is therefore not directly subject to the regulation.

However, due to their properties, the aforementioned minerals are widely used in the electronics industry and also occur in the components and parts we use to manufacture our products. For this reason, we have initiated extensive measures to monitor our supply chain in order to identify the possible use of conflict minerals by our suppliers and take action where necessary. Follow-up and disclosure will gradually contribute to a significant improvement of the situation."