EU Conflict Minerals Regulation: Annual De Minimis Thresholds by Metal

Under the EU Conflict Minerals Regulation, the de minimis thresholds are annual import volumes, listed in Annex I of Regulation (EU) 2017/821, that decide whether an importer of tin, tantalum, tungsten, or gold must carry out supply chain due diligence. If your annual EU imports of a covered mineral or metal stay below the kilogram threshold set for that specific tariff code, you are exempt from the mandatory due diligence and reporting obligations. Thresholds run from as little as 30 kilograms for certain tantalum compounds up to several million kilograms for gold ores, and they have applied since the due diligence requirements took effect on January 1, 2021.¹

What the Thresholds Apply To

The regulation covers four minerals associated with the financing of armed groups in conflict zones: tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold, commonly called 3TGs. It reaches both raw forms (ores and concentrates) and processed metals (powders, unwrought bars, wire, oxides, and other intermediate products). Each form has its own tariff code in Annex I and its own kilogram threshold, so a single mineral like tungsten can trigger several separate threshold calculations depending on the processing stage.²

The obligations fall on importers of the raw or semi-processed materials themselves: mining companies, raw material traders, smelters, and refiners. Finished consumer products such as smartphones, circuit boards, and jewelry sit beyond the metal stage and are not covered by the regulation directly.³

According to the regulation’s recitals, the Annex I numbers were calibrated to capture at least 95 percent of the total EU import volume for each material, so most importers handling commercially meaningful quantities will fall above the line. The Commission has authority to revise the figures through delegated acts.⁴

Recycled and Scrap Material Is Exempt Regardless of Volume

Before checking any threshold, note the carve-out in Article 1(4). If you can demonstrate that the tin, tantalum, tungsten, or gold you import comes from recycled or scrap sources, the due diligence obligations do not apply at all, whatever the volume. The regulation defines recycled metals as reclaimed end-of-life products, manufacturing scrap, or other metal-bearing products that can no longer serve their original purpose.⁴

The burden of proof sits with you. You need documentation tracing the material back to a recycled source, and a supply chain that mixes recycled and newly mined material without clear segregation will not hold up under a competent authority’s review.

Annex I Threshold Tables

Tin

Tin thresholds vary widely across tariff codes:²

Ores and concentrates: 5,000 kg
Tin oxides and hydroxides: 3,600 kg
Tin chlorides: 10,000 kg
Unwrought tin: 100,000 kg
Tin bars, rods, profiles, and wires: 1,400 kg
Other tin articles: 2,100 kg

The gap between unwrought tin at 100,000 kg and fabricated products like bars and wire at 1,400 kg reflects the very different trade volumes at each stage.

Tungsten

Tungsten thresholds span the broadest range in the regulation:²

Ores and concentrates: 250,000 kg
Tungsten oxides and hydroxides: 100,000 kg
Tungstates: 100,000 kg
Carbides of tungsten: 10,000 kg
Ferro-tungsten and ferro-silico-tungsten: 25,000 kg
Tungsten powders: 2,500 kg
Unwrought tungsten: 500 kg
Tungsten wire: 250 kg
Other tungsten forms (bars, rods, plates, sheets, strip, foil): 350 kg

The ores threshold of 250,000 kg exempts most small-scale traders. Once tungsten is processed into powders, wire, or unwrought bars, the thresholds drop sharply. An importer bringing in just 500 kg of unwrought tungsten annually is already over the limit.

Tantalum

Tantalum thresholds also vary considerably by product type:²

Ores and concentrates (tantalum or niobium): 100,000 kg
Tantalates: 30 kg
Carbides of tantalum: 770 kg
Unwrought tantalum and tantalum powders: 2,500 kg
Other tantalum forms (bars, rods, profiles, wire, plates, sheets, strip, foil): 150 kg

The 30 kg tantalates figure is among the lowest in the entire regulation. Even modest quantities in that form put you above the line, while the ores threshold is generous at 100,000 kg.

Gold

Gold ores and concentrates carry a threshold of 4,000,000 kg, reflecting that gold ore is extracted in massive volumes relative to the small amount of actual gold it contains. For unwrought gold, semi-manufactured gold, and gold powder, the regulation sets separate thresholds for material that has not yet passed the refining stage and for refined gold at 99.5% purity or higher.²

How to Calculate Your Annual Import Volume

The calculation runs on a calendar year, January 1 through December 31. You total the net mass of each covered material across all shipments cleared through EU customs during that period. The weight that counts is the mass recorded at the point of release for free circulation, not the weight on the shipping manifest at departure.

Each tariff code in Annex I is evaluated independently. If you import both tungsten ores and tungsten powders, those are two separate calculations against two separate thresholds. You do not combine them.

Your primary documentation is the customs declaration, specifically the Single Administrative Document or its digital equivalent. Commercial invoices, packing lists, and shipping manifests serve as backup verification for material type and weight. Keep an organized registry of these records; a competent authority may ask you to produce proof of your exempt status.

Track your running total throughout the year. If you cross a threshold mid-year, you become an in-scope importer, and you cannot simply check totals after December 31 and decide retroactively whether the rules applied. Continuous monitoring is the only way to avoid an unplanned transition into regulated status partway through the year.

What Happens Once You Cross a Threshold

Once your annual imports exceed the relevant threshold for any tariff code, you must implement a supply chain management system built on the five-step due diligence framework developed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. In summary, that means adopting a supply chain policy, mapping your supply chain, identifying and assessing risks, designing a risk management strategy, and commissioning an independent third-party audit alongside an annual public report.

Enforcement runs through national competent authorities designated under Article 10(1). These agencies conduct ex-post checks, reviewing documentation and practices after the fact rather than screening shipments at the border. Penalties for non-compliance are set by each member state, so the financial consequences of falling short vary across the EU.⁵

In October 2025, the European Commission formally recognized the Responsible Minerals Assurance Process (RMAP), operated by the Responsible Minerals Initiative, as fully aligned with the regulation’s requirements. If your smelters or refiners participate in RMAP, you can rely on that recognized scheme to help demonstrate compliance with your own due diligence obligations. It was the first scheme to receive official recognition, and more may follow.⁶

What the Thresholds Do Not Cover

Two boundaries matter for anyone assuming the de minimis system applies more broadly than it does.

First, finished products are outside the scope entirely. If you import smartphones, circuit boards, jewelry, or other manufactured goods that happen to contain 3TG minerals, no EU threshold applies to you because the regulation stops at the metal stage.³

Second, the U.S. conflict minerals rule under Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Act has no de minimis volume exemption at all. It applies to SEC-reporting companies that manufacture or contract to manufacture products containing 3TG minerals necessary to those products’ functionality, and it focuses on the Democratic Republic of the Congo and nine adjoining countries rather than a global set of conflict-affected areas.⁷⁸ A company subject to both regimes cannot assume the EU threshold analysis carries over; the U.S. rule has its own coverage test entirely.

1
European Commission. Conflict Minerals Regulation
2
Legislation.gov.uk. Regulation (EU) 2017/821 – Annexes
3
European Commission. Conflict Minerals Regulation: The Regulation Explained
4
EUR-Lex. Regulation (EU) 2017/821 of the European Parliament and of the Council
5
European Partnership for Responsible Minerals. List of EU Member State National Competent Authorities Designated Under Article 10(1) of Regulation (EU) 2017/821
6
European Commission. First Supply Chain Due Diligence Scheme Recognised Under Conflict Minerals Regulation to Facilitate Compliance
7
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Form SD
8
U.S. Government Accountability Office. Conflict Minerals: 2022 Company Reports on Mineral Sources Were Similar to Those Filed in Prior Years