This is the Conflict Minerals1 Report of Atrion Corporation (”we,” “our,” “us,” “Atrion,” or the “Company”) prepared for calendar year 2023 in accordance with Rule 13p-1 (“Rule 13p-1”) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Act”). Numerous terms in this Report are defined in Rule 13p-1 of the Act and SEC Release No. 34-67716 (August 22, 2012) under the Act (the “Adopting Release”). The reader is referred to these sources for the definitions of defined terms contained herein.
In accordance with Rule 13p-1, we undertook efforts to determine the content and source of the minerals within our products. The Company designed its efforts in conformity with the internationally recognized due diligence framework set forth in the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas2 (“OECD Due Diligence Guidance”) and related Supplements.
The statements below are based on the activities performed to date, in good faith, by Atrion and are based on the infrastructure and information available at the time of this filing. Factors that could affect the accuracy of these statements include, but are not limited to, incomplete supplier data or available smelter data, errors or omissions by suppliers or smelters, evolving definition and confirmation of smelters, incomplete information from industry or other third-party sources, continuing guidance regarding the SEC final rules, and other issues.
II. Overview
Company Profile
Atrion Corporation develops and manufactures products primarily for medical applications. Our products advance the standard of care by increasing safety for patients and providers. We target niche markets, with particular emphasis on fluid delivery, cardiovascular and ophthalmology applications.
We are subject to this rule as we have determined that, during 2023, conflict minerals were likely necessary to the functionality or production of products we manufactured or contracted to manufacture. The Company, as a purchaser of component parts, is many steps removed from the mining of conflict minerals. We do not purchase raw ore or unrefined conflict minerals and we conduct no purchasing activities directly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (“the DRC”) or the adjoining countries.
_____________________________
1 The term “conflict mineral” is defined in Section 1502(e)(4) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act as (A) columbite-tantalite, also known as coltan (the metal ore from which tantalum is extracted); cassiterite (the metal ore from which tin is extracted); gold; wolframite (the metal ore from which tungsten is extracted); or their derivatives; or (B) any other mineral or its derivatives determined by the Secretary of State to be financing conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (“DRC”) or an adjoining country.
2 OECD (2016), OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas: Third Edition, OECD Publishing, Paris. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264252479-en
1
Conflict Minerals Policy
The Company developed a policy statement to support the goals expressed by Congress in enacting Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The policy highlights the Company’s commitment to complying with the reporting and due diligence obligations required by the SEC rule and the Company’s expectations from its suppliers to establish appropriate policies, data exchange methods, due diligence frameworks, risk mitigation strategies and management systems designed to accomplish the goal of supply chain transparency. The policy resides on our corporate website at: https://atrioncorp.com/company-policies-compliance-documents/. This policy is reviewed and updated periodically as needed.
Reasonable Country of Origin Inquiry Information
We have conducted a good faith reasonable country of origin inquiry (“RCOI”) to determine whether the necessary conflict minerals originated in the DRC or an adjoining country or came from recycled or scrap sources.
The Company’s RCOI process included reviewing the products manufactured or contracted to be manufactured during the Reporting Period to identify products that should be deemed in-scope as described by the Adopting Release and conducting an inquiry of our direct suppliers of the in-scope products using the Responsible Minerals Initiative’s (“RMI”) Conflict Minerals Reporting Template (“CMRT”). Based on the results of our RCOI which indicated sourcing from the DRC or an adjoining country, we exercised due diligence on the source and chain of custody of the conflict minerals in accordance with the OECD framework. Our due diligence efforts are discussed further in this Conflict Minerals Report.
Due Diligence Program Design
The Company designed its conflict minerals program to conform, in all material respects, with the five-step framework of the OECD Due Diligence Guidance, the Supplement on Tin, Tantalum, and Tungsten, and the Supplement on Gold, specifically as it relates to our position in the minerals supply chain as a “downstream” company:
Step 1: Establish strong company management systems
Step 2: Identify and assess risks in the supply chain
Step 3: Design and implement a strategy to respond to identified risks
Step 4: Carry out independent third-party audit of smelter/refiner due diligence practices
Step 5: Report annually on supply chain due diligence
III. Due Diligence Measures Performed by Atrion Corporation
The following describes the measures taken to reasonably determine the country of origin and to exercise due diligence in the mineral supply chain in conformance with the OECD Due Diligence Guidance.
2
Step 1:Establish strong company management systems
We implemented the following as part of our conflict minerals program:
a.
Conflict minerals team – Atrion established a conflict minerals team that included individuals from the appropriate business units and departments, i.e. business unit procurement management, corporate compliance, and the corporate Chief Financial Officer. The team was structured to ensure critical information, including the Company policy, reached relevant employees and suppliers.
b.
Conflict minerals policy – Atrion adopted and published a policy establishing the expectations of our suppliers. The policy resides on our corporate website. The policy will be periodically reviewed and updated as needed.
c.
Supplier engagement – Atrion provided educational materials to our queried suppliers. Suppliers were provided information on the conflict minerals disclosure requirements as well as recommendations for developing, implementing, and documenting a conflict minerals compliance program and a link to Atrion Corp.’s Conflict Minerals Policy.
d.
Records management – Atrion maintains records relating to our conflict minerals program in accordance with the recommended record retention guidelines of five years.
Step 2: Identify and assess risks in the supply chain
We performed the following steps as part of our risk assessment process:
a.
Identified products in scope – Our conflict minerals team conducted a detailed review of the products manufactured or contracted to be manufactured during the Reporting Period to identify products that should be deemed in-scope as described by the Adopting Release.
b.
Conducted RCOI – Atrion utilized the most recent version of the industry-developed CMRT to query our suppliers for conflict minerals information. We requested this information from the Tier 1 suppliers who provide material and components for the products deemed in-scope by our conflict minerals team. We evaluated the responses from the templates submitted by our suppliers to determine our reporting obligation based on this RCOI. See Appendix I for a list of countries of origin identified through the RCOI process.
c.
Completed additional follow-up – Atrion contacted direct suppliers that did not respond to our request for conflict minerals information by the requested date. We also worked to clarify and validate the information provided by our suppliers.
d.
Identify smelters or refiners (“SORs”) – Atrion compiled a list of SORs in our supply chain using our suppliers’ responses in their CMRTs. We reconciled this list to the list of smelter facilities designated by the RMI’s Responsible Minerals Assurance Process (“RMAP”). The RMAP, London Bullion Market Association (LBMA), and Responsible Jewelry Council (RJC) complete independent, third-party audits of smelters and refiners to determine which can be validated as having systems in place that ensure the minerals are responsibly sourced according to the OECD Due Diligence Guidance. We have provided that list in this report within section IV – Product Description; Processing Facilities.
Step 3: Design and implement a strategy to respond to identified risks
We performed the following steps as part of our risk management plan:
a.
Reporting results to senior management – As necessary, the Conflict Minerals team reports the results of our RCOI to upper management, which included the team’s plan to respond to risks, identified in the due diligence processes.
b.
Designed and implemented a plan – Atrion used established risk rating criteria to evaluate suppliers based on the responses provided within their CMRT, as well as, any additional documentation furnished to support those responses and the suppliers’ due diligence processes. The resulting risk ratings will be used to develop specific outreach and training to address the identified risks and to take corrective actions with suppliers found not in compliance with the Company’s conflict minerals policy.
c.
Verified SORs – As part of the risk mitigation process, the Company reconciled the list of SORs collected from suppliers to the list of smelter facilities identified by the RMI.
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Step 4: Carry out independent third-party audit of smelter/refiner due diligence practices
The Company is using information provided by independent third party audit programs, including the RMI, London Bullion Market Association (LBMA), and Responsible Jewelry Council (RJC), to confirm the existence and verify the OECD-conformance status of SORs identified during our due diligence.
Step 5: Report annually on supply chain due diligence
Accordingly, this Conflict Minerals Report has been filed with the SEC and is available on our website at https://atrion.irpass.com/SEC.
IV. Product Description
Products - The products subject to this report are:
Our MPS console products sold by our Quest Medical, Inc. subsidiary, as well as Inflation Products sold by our Halkey Roberts, Inc. subsidiary. In addition, the QL® Inflation Devices and NeedleVISE® products sold by our Atrion Medical Products, Inc. subsidiary are subject to this report.
Processing Facilities – Based on our due diligence process and the information received from our suppliers, the following facilities were identified by the Company’s suppliers as the smelters and refiners of the tin, tantalum, tungsten and/or gold present in and necessary to the functionality of products manufactured by the Company in the calendar year ended December 31, 2023. The information from our suppliers is still evolving and may contain company-level declarations. As such, this smelter list is presented in good faith as the best information we have to date. This list may contain smelters that are not in our supply chain and/or there may be other smelters not yet identified in our due diligence process. We will continue to update the list as our information and the relevant third-party data from RMI, LBMA, and RJC improves.
Metal
Smelter Name
Country
Smelter ID
Gold
8853 S.p.A.
ITALY
CID002763
Gold
Abington Reldan Metals, LLC
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
CID002708
Gold
Advanced Chemical Company
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
CID000015
Gold
Agosi AG
GERMANY
CID000035
Gold
Aida Chemical Industries Co., Ltd.
JAPAN
CID000019
Gold
Al Etihad Gold Refinery DMCC
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
CID002560
Gold
Almalyk Mining and Metallurgical Complex (AMMC)
UZBEKISTAN
CID000041
Gold
AngloGold Ashanti Corrego do Sitio Mineracao
BRAZIL
CID000058
Gold
Argor-Heraeus S.A.
SWITZERLAND
CID000077
Gold
Asahi Pretec Corp.
JAPAN
CID000082
Gold
Asahi Refining Canada Ltd.
CANADA
CID000924
Gold
Asahi Refining USA Inc.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
CID000920
Gold
Asaka Riken Co., Ltd.
JAPAN
CID000090
Gold
Aurubis AG
GERMANY
CID000113
Gold
Bangalore Refinery
INDIA
CID002863
Gold
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (Central Bank of the Philippines)
PHILIPPINES
CID000128
Gold
Boliden Ronnskar
SWEDEN
CID000157
Gold
C. Hafner GmbH + Co. KG
GERMANY
CID000176
Gold
CCR Refinery - Glencore Canada Corporation
CANADA
CID000185
4
Gold
Cendres + Metaux S.A.
SWITZERLAND
CID000189
Gold
Chimet S.p.A.
ITALY
CID000233
Gold
Chugai Mining
JAPAN
CID000264
Gold
Dowa
JAPAN
CID000401
Gold
DSC (Do Sung Corporation)
KOREA, REPUBLIC OF
CID000359
Gold
Eco-System Recycling Co., Ltd. East Plant
JAPAN
CID000425
Gold
Eco-System Recycling Co., Ltd. North Plant
JAPAN
CID003424
Gold
Eco-System Recycling Co., Ltd. West Plant
JAPAN
CID003425
Gold
Emirates Gold DMCC
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
CID002561
Gold
GGC Gujrat Gold Centre Pvt. Ltd.
INDIA
CID002852
Gold
Gold Refinery of Zijin Mining Group Co., Ltd.
CHINA
CID002243
Gold
Heimerle + Meule GmbH
GERMANY
CID000694
Gold
Heraeus Germany GmbH Co. KG
GERMANY
CID000711
Gold
Heraeus Metals Hong Kong Ltd.
CHINA
CID000707
Gold
Inner Mongolia Qiankun Gold and Silver Refinery Share Co., Ltd.
CHINA
CID000801
Gold
Ishifuku Metal Industry Co., Ltd.
JAPAN
CID000807
Gold
Istanbul Gold Refinery
TURKEY
CID000814
Gold
Italpreziosi
ITALY
CID002765
Gold
Japan Mint
JAPAN
CID000823
Gold
Jiangxi Copper Co., Ltd.
CHINA
CID000855
Gold
JX Nippon Mining & Metals Co., Ltd.
JAPAN
CID000937
Gold
Kazzinc
KAZAKHSTAN
CID000957
Gold
Kennecott Utah Copper LLC
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
CID000969
Gold
KGHM Polska Miedz Spolka Akcyjna
POLAND
CID002511
Gold
Kojima Chemicals Co., Ltd.
JAPAN
CID000981
Gold
Korea Zinc Co., Ltd.
KOREA, REPUBLIC OF
CID002605
Gold
L'Orfebre S.A.
ANDORRA
CID002762
Gold
LS MnM Inc.
KOREA, REPUBLIC OF
CID001078
Gold
LT Metal Ltd.
KOREA, REPUBLIC OF
CID000689
Gold
Materion
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
CID001113
Gold
Matsuda Sangyo Co., Ltd.
JAPAN
CID001119
Gold
Metal Concentrators SA (Pty) Ltd.
SOUTH AFRICA
CID003575
Gold
Metalor Technologies (Hong Kong) Ltd.
CHINA
CID001149
Gold
Metalor Technologies (Singapore) Pte., Ltd.
SINGAPORE
CID001152
Gold
Metalor Technologies (Suzhou) Ltd.
CHINA
CID001147
Gold
Metalor Technologies S.A.
SWITZERLAND
CID001153
Gold
Metalor USA Refining Corporation
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
CID001157
Gold
Metalurgica Met-Mex Penoles S.A. De C.V.
MEXICO
CID001161
Gold
Mitsubishi Materials Corporation
JAPAN
CID001188
Gold
Mitsui Mining and Smelting Co., Ltd.
JAPAN
CID001193
Gold
MKS PAMP SA
SWITZERLAND
CID001352
Gold
MMTC-PAMP India Pvt., Ltd.
INDIA
CID002509
5
Gold
Nadir Metal Rafineri San. Ve Tic. A.S.
TURKEY
CID001220
Gold
Navoi Mining and Metallurgical Combinat
UZBEKISTAN
CID001236
Gold
NH Recytech Company
KOREA, REPUBLIC OF
CID003189
Gold
Nihon Material Co., Ltd.
JAPAN
CID001259
Gold
Ogussa Osterreichische Gold- und Silber-Scheideanstalt GmbH
AUSTRIA
CID002779
Gold
Ohura Precious Metal Industry Co., Ltd.
JAPAN
CID001325
Gold
Planta Recuperadora de Metales SpA
CHILE
CID002919
Gold
PT Aneka Tambang (Persero) Tbk
INDONESIA
CID001397
Gold
PX Precinox S.A.
SWITZERLAND
CID001498
Gold
Rand Refinery (Pty) Ltd.
SOUTH AFRICA
CID001512
Gold
REMONDIS PMR B.V.
NETHERLANDS
CID002582
Gold
Royal Canadian Mint
CANADA
CID001534
Gold
SAAMP
FRANCE
CID002761
Gold
Safimet S.p.A
ITALY
CID002973
Gold
SAFINA A.S.
CZECHIA
CID002290
Gold
Samduck Precious Metals
KOREA, REPUBLIC OF
CID001555
Gold
SEMPSA Joyeria Plateria S.A.
SPAIN
CID001585
Gold
Shandong Gold Smelting Co., Ltd.
CHINA
CID001916
Gold
Shandong Zhaojin Gold & Silver Refinery Co., Ltd.
CHINA
CID001622
Gold
Sichuan Tianze Precious Metals Co., Ltd.
CHINA
CID001736
Gold
Singway Technology Co., Ltd.
TAIWAN, PROVINCE OF CHINA
CID002516
Gold
Solar Applied Materials Technology Corp.
TAIWAN, PROVINCE OF CHINA
CID001761
Gold
Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Ltd.
JAPAN
CID001798
Gold
SungEel HiMetal Co., Ltd.
KOREA, REPUBLIC OF
CID002918
Gold
T.C.A S.p.A
ITALY
CID002580
Gold
Tanaka Kikinzoku Kogyo K.K.
JAPAN
CID001875
Gold
Tokuriki Honten Co., Ltd.
JAPAN
CID001938
Gold
TOO Tau-Ken-Altyn
KAZAKHSTAN
CID002615
Gold
Torecom
KOREA, REPUBLIC OF
CID001955
Gold
Umicore Precious Metals Thailand
THAILAND
CID002314
Gold
Umicore S.A. Business Unit Precious Metals Refining
BELGIUM
CID001980
Gold
United Precious Metal Refining, Inc.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
CID001993
Gold
Valcambi S.A.
SWITZERLAND
CID002003
Gold
Western Australian Mint (T/a The Perth Mint)
AUSTRALIA
CID002030
Gold
WIELAND Edelmetalle GmbH
GERMANY
CID002778
Gold
Yamakin Co., Ltd.
JAPAN
CID002100
Gold
Yokohama Metal Co., Ltd.
JAPAN
CID002129
Gold
Zhongyuan Gold Smelter of Zhongjin Gold Corporation
CHINA
CID002224
Tantalum
AMG Brasil
BRAZIL
CID001076
6
Tantalum
D Block Metals, LLC
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
CID002504
Tantalum
F&X Electro-Materials Ltd.
CHINA
CID000460
Tantalum
FIR Metals & Resource Ltd.
CHINA
CID002505
Tantalum
Global Advanced Metals Aizu
JAPAN
CID002558
Tantalum
Global Advanced Metals Boyertown
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
CID002557
Tantalum
Hengyang King Xing Lifeng New Materials Co., Ltd.
CHINA
CID002492
Tantalum
Jiangxi Dinghai Tantalum & Niobium Co., Ltd.
CHINA
CID002512
Tantalum
Jiangxi Tuohong New Raw Material
CHINA
CID002842
Tantalum
JiuJiang JinXin Nonferrous Metals Co., Ltd.
CHINA
CID000914
Tantalum
Jiujiang Tanbre Co., Ltd.
CHINA
CID000917
Tantalum
Jiujiang Zhongao Tantalum & Niobium Co., Ltd.
CHINA
CID002506
Tantalum
KEMET de Mexico
MEXICO
CID002539
Tantalum
Materion Newton Inc.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
CID002548
Tantalum
Metallurgical Products India Pvt., Ltd.
INDIA
CID001163
Tantalum
Mineracao Taboca S.A.
BRAZIL
CID001175
Tantalum
Mitsui Mining and Smelting Co., Ltd.
JAPAN
CID001192
Tantalum
Ningxia Orient Tantalum Industry Co., Ltd.
CHINA
CID001277
Tantalum
NPM Silmet AS
ESTONIA
CID001200
Tantalum
QuantumClean
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
CID001508
Tantalum
Resind Industria e Comercio Ltda.
BRAZIL
CID002707
Tantalum
RFH Yancheng Jinye New Material Technology Co., Ltd.
CHINA
CID003583
Tantalum
Taki Chemical Co., Ltd.
JAPAN
CID001869
Tantalum
TANIOBIS Co., Ltd.
THAILAND
CID002544
Tantalum
TANIOBIS GmbH
GERMANY
CID002545
Tantalum
TANIOBIS Japan Co., Ltd.
JAPAN
CID002549
Tantalum
TANIOBIS Smelting GmbH & Co. KG
GERMANY
CID002550
Tantalum
Telex Metals
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
CID001891
Tantalum
Ulba Metallurgical Plant JSC
KAZAKHSTAN
CID001969
Tantalum
XIMEI RESOURCES (GUANGDONG) LIMITED
CHINA
CID000616
Tantalum
XinXing HaoRong Electronic Material Co., Ltd.
CHINA
CID002508
Tantalum
Yanling Jincheng Tantalum & Niobium Co., Ltd.
CHINA
CID001522
Tin
Alpha
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
CID000292
Tin
Aurubis Beerse
BELGIUM
CID002773
Tin
Aurubis Berango
SPAIN
CID002774
Tin
Chenzhou Yunxiang Mining and Metallurgy Co., Ltd.
CHINA
CID000228
Tin
Chifeng Dajingzi Tin Industry Co., Ltd.
CHINA
CID003190
Tin
China Tin Group Co., Ltd.
CHINA
CID001070
Tin
CRM Fundicao De Metais E Comercio De Equipamentos Eletronicos Do Brasil Ltda
Jiangxi Tonggu Non-ferrous Metallurgical & Chemical Co., Ltd.
CHINA
CID002318
Tungsten
Jiangxi Xinsheng Tungsten Industry Co., Ltd.
CHINA
CID002317
Tungsten
Jiangxi Yaosheng Tungsten Co., Ltd.
CHINA
CID002316
Tungsten
Kennametal Fallon
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
CID000966
Tungsten
Kennametal Huntsville
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
CID000105
Tungsten
Lianyou Metals Co., Ltd.
TAIWAN, PROVINCE OF CHINA
CID003407
Tungsten
Malipo Haiyu Tungsten Co., Ltd.
CHINA
CID002319
Tungsten
Masan High-Tech Materials
VIET NAM
CID002543
9
Tungsten
Niagara Refining LLC
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
CID002589
Tungsten
Philippine Chuangxin Industrial Co., Inc.
PHILIPPINES
CID002827
Tungsten
TANIOBIS Smelting GmbH & Co. KG
GERMANY
CID002542
Tungsten
Wolfram Bergbau und Hutten AG
AUSTRIA
CID002044
Tungsten
Xiamen Tungsten (H.C.) Co., Ltd.
CHINA
CID002320
Tungsten
Xiamen Tungsten Co., Ltd.
CHINA
CID002082
V Future Due Diligence
We will continue to communicate our expectations and information requirements to our direct suppliers. Over time, we anticipate that the amount of information globally on the traceability and sourcing of these ores will increase and improve our knowledge. We will continue to make inquiries to our direct suppliers and undertake additional risk assessments when potentially relevant changes in facts or circumstances are identified. If we become aware of a supplier whose due diligence needs improvement, we intend to continue the trade relationship while that supplier improves its compliance program. We expect our suppliers to take similar measures with their suppliers to ensure alignment throughout the supply chain.
In addition to those above, the Company may undertake the following steps during the next compliance period:
·
Review the conflict minerals policy statement and update if necessary.
·
Continue to collect responses from suppliers using the most recent version of the CMRT.
·
Monitor and track performance of risk mitigation efforts.
·
Engage with suppliers that did not provide a response in 2023 or provided incomplete responses to enhance our data collection for 2024.
·
Compare and validate RCOI results to information collected via independent third-party audit programs, such as the RMI, and through our Company’s own coordinated outreach to smelters.
·
Encourage responsible sourcing from the DRC and adjoining countries.
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