SIMPSONVILLE, SC -- Kemet's chief executive this week testified before a US Congressional subcommittee that the Dodd-Frank law has had "positive impacts" on the area where the companies mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

On Nov. 17, Per Loof told the US House Financial Services Committee’s Monetary Policy and Trade Subcommittee that Kemet's supply-chain and sourcing model for conflict-free tantalum ore has benefited the village of Kisengo, DRC, thanks to a number of infrastructure improvements, including a hospital, school, clean water wells and solar powered street lighting.

The subcommittee hearing focused on Section 1502 of Dodd-Frank, requiring public companies to disclose whether they source “conflict minerals” – tin, tungsten, tantalum, and gold – from the DRC and its nine neighboring countries.

“We have shown that it is possible to succeed in business while being economically and socially responsible,” stated Loof. “Section 1502 has been very good for the tantalum industry, and there is now a clear road map on how to ethically source DRC tantalum. The Act has directly enabled companies like Kemet, to, after decades of absence, embrace the business and social opportunities in the DRC; to develop a viable and secure supply chain of tantalum that benefits Kemet's customers and the entire industry; and to markedly improve both Kemet's competiveness and the life of the people in the village.”

The committee has oversight of the Dodd-Frank Act, which was signed into law by President Obama five years ago.

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