Intel says its processors will be ‘conflict-free’

Intel CEO Brian Krzanich talks about materials used to make Intel microprocessors during a keynote address at the International Consumer Electronics Show, Monday, Jan. 6, 2014, in Las Vegas. AP

LAS VEGAS, Nevada—Intel says all its processors this year will be made from minerals that don’t hail from mines held by armed groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

It’s the first major American technology company to make such a claim. It’s the fruit of four years of work by the company to determine the sources of four crucial metals widely used in electronics manufacturing, tantalum, tungsten, tin and gold.

Eastern Congo is rich in minerals, and other economic activity has been disrupted by nearly two decades of fighting between the government, rogue soldiers and different ethnic groups. There’s been widespread concern that foreign purchases of minerals from mines held by armed groups are fueling the conflict, though many experts say the minerals are not the root cause of the fighting.

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