- armed groups and security forces
means groups referred to in Annex II to the OECD Due Diligence Guidance;
- by-product
means a mineral or metal falling within the scope of this Regulation that has been obtained from the processing of a mineral or metal falling outside the scope of this Regulation, and which would not have been obtained without the processing of the primary mineral or metal falling outside the scope of this Regulation;
- chain of custody or supply chain traceability system
means a record of the sequence of economic operators which have custody of minerals and metals as they move through a supply chain;
- conflict-affected and high-risk areas
means areas in a state of armed conflict or fragile post-conflict as well as areas witnessing weak or non-existent governance and security, such as failed states, and widespread and systematic violations of international law, including human rights abuses;
- downstream
means the metal supply chain from the stage following the smelters and refiners to the final product;
- due diligence scheme
means a combination of voluntary supply chain due diligence procedures, tools and mechanisms, including independent third-party audits, developed and overseen by governments, industry associations or groupings of interested organisations;
- global responsible smelters and refiners
means smelters and refiners located inside or outside the Union that are deemed to fulfil the requirements of this Regulation;
- grievance mechanism
means an early-warning risk awareness mechanism allowing any interested party, including whistle-blowers, to voice concerns regarding the circumstances of extraction, trade and handling of minerals in and export of minerals from conflict-affected and high-risk areas;
- Member State competent authorities
means authorities designated by Member States in accordance with Article 10 with expertise as regards raw materials, industrial processes and auditing;
- metals
means metals containing or consisting of tin, tantalum, tungsten or gold, as listed in Part B of Annex I;
- mineral supply chain
means the system of activities, organisations, actors, technology, information, resources and services involved in moving and processing the minerals from the extraction site to their incorporation in the final product;
- minerals
means the following, as listed in Part A of Annex I:
- model supply chain policy
means a supply chain policy that conforms to Annex II to the OECD Due Diligence Guidance outlining the risks of significant adverse impacts which may be associated with the extraction, trade, and handling of minerals in and export of minerals from conflict-affected and high-risk areas;
- recycled metals
means reclaimed end-user or post-consumer products, or scrap processed metals created during product manufacturing, including excess, obsolete, defective, and scrap metal materials which contain refined or processed metals that are appropriate for recycling in the production of tin, tantalum, tungsten or gold.
- risk management plan
means the written response of a Union importer to the identified supply chain risks based on Annex III to the OECD Due Diligence Guidance;
- smelter and refiner
means any natural or legal person performing forms of extractive metallurgy involving processing steps with the aim to produce a metal from a mineral;
- supply chain due diligence
means the obligations of Union importers of tin, tantalum and tungsten, their ores, and gold in relation to their management systems, risk management, independent third-party audits and disclosure of information with a view to identifying and addressing actual and potential risks linked to conflict-affected and high-risk areas to prevent or mitigate adverse impacts associated with their sourcing activities;
- Union importer
means any natural or legal person declaring minerals or metals for release for free circulation within the meaning of Article 201 of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council or any natural or legal person on whose behalf such declaration is made, as indicated in data elements 3/15 and 3/16 in accordance with Annex B to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446;
- upstream
means the mineral supply chain from the extraction sites to the smelters and refiners, inclusive;
- verifiable date
means a date which can be verified by the inspection of physical date stamps on products or of inventory lists.