FUNDING ATROCITIES: U.S. regulators mandated that public companies disclose information about their use of minerals from Congo, where militias linked to atrocities have profited from mining minerals used in electronics, jewelry and other goods.

FOLLOW THE TRAIL: The Securities and Exchange Commission adopted a rule requiring public companies that use designated minerals from Congo and neighboring countries in their products to disclose annually their efforts to trace the minerals back to their sources.

CONFLICT MINERALS: The minerals are gold, and the ores of tin, tungsten and tantalum. Tantalum is widely used in electronics. Tin and tungsten have many industrial uses.