UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM SD
SPECIALIZED DISCLOSURE REPORT
AMERICAN OUTDOOR BRANDS CORPORATION
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
| NEVADA | 001-31552 | 87-0543688 | ||
| (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) |
(Commission File Number) |
(IRS Employer Identification No.) | ||
| 2100 Roosevelt Avenue, Springfield, Massachusetts | 01104 | |||
| (Address of principal executive offices) | (Zip code) | |||
Jeffrey D. Buchanan, Exec. VP, CFO, CAO, and
Treasurer – (800) 331-0852
(Name and telephone number, including area code, of the person to contact in connection with this report.)
Check the appropriate box to indicate the rule pursuant to which this form is being filed, and provide the period to which the information in this form applies:
| ☒ | Rule 13p-1 under the Securities Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13p-1) for the reporting period from January 1 to December 31, 2016. |
| Section 1 | Conflict Minerals Disclosure |
| Item 1.01 | Conflict Minerals Disclosure and Report |
A copy of American Outdoor Brands Corporation Conflict Minerals Report is filed as Exhibit 1.01 hereto and is publically available at www.aob.com/conflictmineralsreport. The content of our website as referred to in this Form SD is included for general information only and is not incorporated by reference into this Form SD.
| Item 1.02 | Exhibit |
| Exhibit 1.01 | Conflict Minerals Report | |
| Section 2 | Exhibits |
| Item 2.01 | Exhibits |
The following exhibit is filed as part of this report:
Exhibit 1.01 – Conflict Minerals Report as required by Items 1.01 and 1.02 of this Form.
* * * * *
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the duly authorized undersigned.
AMERICAN OUTDOOR BRANDS CORPORATION,
a Nevada corporation
| By: | /s/ P. James Debney |
Dated: | 5/26/2017 | |||||
| P. James Debney | ||||||||
| President and Chief Executive Officer | ||||||||
| By: | /s/ Jeffrey D. Buchanan |
Dated: | 5/30/2017 | |||||
| Jeffrey D. Buchanan | ||||||||
| Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, | ||||||||
| Chief Administrative Officer, and Treasurer | ||||||||
EXHIBIT 1.01
AMERICAN OUTDOOR BRANDS CORPORATION
CONFLICT MINERALS REPORT
FOR THE REPORTING PERIOD
JANUARY 1, 2016 TO DECEMBER 31, 2016
INTRODUCTION
This Conflict Minerals Report for AMERICAN OUTDOOR BRANDS CORPORATION (“AOBC,” “Company,” “we,” or “our”) is provided for the reporting period January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016, and is presented to comply with Rule 13p-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Rule”), and the Public Statement on the Effect of the Recent Court of Appeals Decision on the Conflict Minerals Rule issued by the Director of the Division of Corporation Finance of the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 29, 2014 (the “SEC Statement”). The Rule was adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) to implement reporting and disclosure requirements related to conflict minerals as directed by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (“Dodd-Frank Act”). The Rule imposes certain reporting obligations on SEC registrants whose manufactured products contain tin, tantalum, tungsten, or gold (“3TG,” also defined by the Rule as “conflict minerals”), and who have reason to believe that the products they manufacture, or contract to manufacture, contain conflict minerals that are necessary to the functionality or production of those products. If the SEC registrant has reason to believe that any conflict minerals may have originated in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or an adjoining country, or is unable to determine the country of origin of those conflict minerals, the SEC registrant is required to submit a Conflict Minerals Report to the SEC that includes a description of the measures it took to exercise due diligence on the conflict minerals’ source and chain of custody.
COMPANY BACKGROUND
American Outdoor Brands Corporation is a provider of quality products for shooting, hunting, and rugged outdoor enthusiasts in the global consumer and professional markets. The Company reports two segments: Firearms and Outdoor Products & Accessories. Firearms manufactures handgun and long gun products sold under the Smith & Wesson®, M&P®, and Thompson/Center Arms™ brands as well as provides forging, machining, and precision plastic injection molding services. Outdoor Products & Accessories provides shooting, hunting, and outdoor accessories, including reloading, gunsmithing, and gun cleaning supplies, tree saws, vault accessories, knives, laser sighting systems, tactical lighting products, and survival and camping equipment. Brands in Outdoor Products & Accessories include Smith & Wesson®, M&P®, Thompson/Center Arms™, Crimson Trace®, Caldwell® Shooting Supplies, Wheeler® Engineering, Tipton® Gun Cleaning Supplies, Frankford Arsenal® Reloading Tools, Lockdown® Vault Accessories, Hooyman® Premium Tree Saws, BOG POD®, Golden Rod® Moisture Control, Schrade®, Old Timer®, Uncle Henry®, UST™, and Imperial™.
A copy of the Company’s Conflict Mineral Policy is available on our website at www.aob.com/conflictmineralsreport.
REPORT
This Conflict Minerals Report is provided for the reporting period January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016 in accordance with the Rule, the instructions to Form SD, and the SEC Statement. Please refer to the Rule, Form SD and Securities Exchange Release No. 34-67716 for definitions to the terms used in this Report, unless otherwise defined herein.
In accordance with the Rule and the instructions to Form SD, AOBC undertook due diligence to determine the source of origin of any necessary conflict minerals used in products it manufactures or contracts to manufacture. In conducting its due diligence, AOBC implemented the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas (including the Supplements on Tin, Tantalum and Tungsten, and the Gold Supplement) (Second Edition OECD 2013) (“OECD Guidance”), an internationally recognized due diligence framework.
Design of Our Due Diligence Measures
Our conflict minerals due diligence measures have been designed to conform with the OECD Guidance, as applicable for tin, tantalum, tungsten, gold and downstream companies (as the term is defined in the OECD
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Guidance), in all material respects. The Company does not make direct purchases of raw ore or unrefined conflict minerals in the Covered Countries. We designed our due diligence measures to:
| 1. | design and implement strategies to determine the presence of conflict minerals in our products; |
| 2. | establish management systems for supply chain due diligence and reporting compliance; |
| 3. | identify and assess conflict minerals content in our supply chain; |
| 4. | identify and mitigate any risk for potential non-compliance with the Rule; and |
| 5. | report on our conflict minerals supply chain due diligence activities, as required by the Rule. |
Due Diligence Measures Performed
Except for the assets acquired at our Wilsonville, Oregon and Jacksonville, Florida facilities in 2016, for which we are undertaking activities to bring such operations into compliance with the OECD Guidance, our due diligence measures for the reporting period January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016 included the following activities:
| 1. | We updated our product taxonomy for the products that were subject to reporting in the 2016 reporting period, and reviewed additions with company product managers, engineers, metallurgists and supply chain personnel, to determine which products or components have the possibility of containing necessary conflict minerals. |
| 2. | We surveyed any suppliers involved with products or components we determined could possibly contain necessary conflict minerals, to ascertain for each of these conflict minerals (i) whether the product or component contained necessary conflict minerals, (ii) the smelter or refiner where it was processed, (iii) its country of origin, and (iv) its mine of origin. |
| 3. | We leveraged the due diligence conducted on smelters and refiners by the Conflict Free Sourcing Initiative (the “CFSI”), and its Conflict-Free Smelter Program (the “CFSP”), by comparing the names of the smelters identified by our suppliers to those identified as compliant in the CFSP. The CFSP uses independent private sector auditors to audit the source, including mines of origin, and chain of custody of the conflict minerals used by smelters and refiners that agree to participate in the CFSP. The smelters and refiners that are found to be CFSP compliant are those for which the independent auditor has verified that the smelter’s or refiner’s conflict minerals originated from conflict free mines and trading in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or any of its adjoining countries. A list of smelters identified to date, and associated information, is provided hereto as Attachment A. |
After conducting good faith due diligence on the presence of necessary conflict minerals in certain of the Company’s products, AOBC has been unable to identify all smelters, refiners in its supply chain and the ultimate source of origin of such minerals. The Company is continuing its efforts to identify and mitigate risks in its supply chain and to obtain complete information from its upstream suppliers. The Company’s efforts are necessarily dependent upon the willingness of its supply chain participants to cooperate and assist in this endeavor and there can be no guarantee that the Company will be able to obtain adequate and reliable information upon which to base its analysis.
INDEPENDENT PRIVATE SECTOR AUDIT
This Report has not been subject to an independent private sector audit in accordance with the SEC Statement.
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ATTACHMENT A
SMELTER DETAILS
| Smelter Name | Smelter Country | Metal | ||
| Advanced Chemical Company | United States | Gold | ||
| Aida Chemical Industries Co., Ltd. | Japan | Gold | ||
| Allgemeine Gold-und Silberscheideanstalt A.G. | Germany | Gold | ||
| AngloGold Ashanti Córrego do Sítio Mineração | Brazil | Gold | ||
| Argor-Heraeus S.A. | Switzerland | Gold | ||
| Asahi Pretec Corp | Japan | Gold | ||
| Asahi Refining Canada Ltd. | Canada | Gold | ||
| Asahi Refining USA Inc. | United States | Gold | ||
| Asaka Riken Co., Ltd. | Japan | Gold | ||
| Aurubis AG | Germany | Gold | ||
| Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (Central Bank of the Philippines) | Philippines | Gold | ||
| Boliden AB | Sweden | Gold | ||
| C. Hafner GmbH + Co. KG | Germany | Gold | ||
| CCR Refinery - Glencore Canada Corporation | Canada | Gold | ||
| Chimet S.p.A. | Italy | Gold | ||
| Dowa | Japan | Gold | ||
| Eco-System Recycling Co., Ltd. | Japan | Gold | ||
| Elemetal Refining, LLC | United States | Gold | ||
| GuangZHou Jin Ding | China | Gold | ||
| Heesung Metal Ltd | Korea, Republic of | Gold | ||
| Heimerle + Meule GmbH | Germany | Gold | ||
| Heraeus Group | United States | Gold | ||
| Heraeus Ltd. Hong Kong | China | Gold | ||
| Heraeus Precious Metals GmbH & Co. KG | Germany | Gold | ||
| Ishifuku Metal Industry Co., Ltd. | Japan | Gold | ||
| Istanbul Gold Refinery | Turkey | Gold | ||
| Jiangxi Copper Co., Ltd. | China | Gold | ||
| Johnson Matthey Inc | United States | Gold | ||
| JX Nippon Mining & Metals Co., Ltd | Japan | Gold | ||
| Kennecott Utah Copper LLC | United States | Gold | ||
| Kojima Chemicals Co., Ltd. | Japan | Gold | ||
| LS-NIKKO Copper Inc. | Korea, Republic of | Gold | ||
| Materion | United States | Gold | ||
| Matsuda Sangyo Co. Ltd | Japan | Gold | ||
| Metalor Technologies (Hong Kong) Ltd. | China | Gold | ||
| Metalor Technologies (Singapore) Pte., Ltd. | Singapore | Gold | ||
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| Smelter Name | Smelter Country | Metal | ||
| Metalor Technologies S.A. | Switzerland | Gold | ||
| Metalor USA Refining Corporation | United States | Gold | ||
| Metalúrgica Met-Mex Peñoles S.A. De C.V. | Mexico | Gold | ||
| Mistubishi Materials Corporation | Japan | Gold | ||
| Mitsui Mining and Smelting Co., Ltd. | Japan | Gold | ||
| Nadir Metal Rafineri San. Ve Tic. A.Ş. | Turkey | Gold | ||
| Navoi Mining and Metallurgical Combinat | Uzbekistan | Gold | ||
| Nihon Material Co., Ltd. | Japan | Gold | ||
| Ohio Precious Metals | United States | Gold | ||
| Ohura Precious Metal Industry Co., Ltd. | Japan | Gold | ||
| PAMP S.A. | Switzerland | Gold | ||
| PT Aneka Tambang (Persero) Tbk | Indonesia | Gold | ||
| PX Précinox S.A. | Switzerland | Gold | ||
| Rand Refinery (Pty) Ltd. | South Africa | Gold | ||
| Republic Metals Corporation | United States | Gold | ||
| Royal Canadian Mint | Canada | Gold | ||
| SEMPSA Joyería Platería S.A. | Spain | Gold | ||
| Shandong Zhaojin Gold & Silver Refinery Co., Ltd. | China | Gold | ||
| Sichuan Tianze Precious Metals Co., Ltd. | China | Gold | ||
| SOE Shyolkovsky Factory of Secondary Precious Metals | Russian Federation | Gold | ||
| Solar Applied Materials Technology Corp. | Taiwan, Province of China | Gold | ||
| Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Ltd. | Japan | Gold | ||
| Tanaka Kikinzoku Kogyo K.K. | Japan | Gold | ||
| The Refinery of Shandong Gold Mining Co., Ltd. | China | Gold | ||
| Tokuriki Honten Co., Ltd | Japan | Gold | ||
| Umicore Brasil Ltda. | Brazil | Gold | ||
| Umicore Precious Metals Thailand | Thailand | Gold | ||
| Umicore S.A. Business Unit Precious Metals Refining | Belgium | Gold | ||
| United Precious Metal Refining, Inc. | United States | Gold | ||
| Valcambi S.A. | Switzerland | Gold | ||
| Western Australian Mint trading as The Perth Mint | Australia | Gold | ||
| Xstrata Canada Corporation | Canada | Gold | ||
| Yamamoto Precious Metal Co., Ltd. | Japan | Gold | ||
| Yokohama Metal Co., Ltd. | Japan | Gold | ||
| Zhongyuan Gold Smelter of Zhongjin Gold Corporation | China | Gold | ||
| Zijin Mining Group Co., Ltd. Gold Refinery | China | Gold | ||
| Changsha South Tantalum Niobium Co., Ltd. | China | Tantalum | ||
| Conghua Tantalum and Niobium Smeltry | China | Tantalum | ||
| D Block Metals, LLC | United States | Tantalum | ||
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| Smelter Name | Smelter Country | Metal | ||
| Duoluoshan | China | Tantalum | ||
| Exotech Inc. | United States | Tantalum | ||
| F&X Electro-Materials Ltd. | China | Tantalum | ||
| Global Advanced Metals Aizu | Japan | Tantalum | ||
| Global Advanced Metals Boyertown | United States | Tantalum | ||
| Guangdong Zhiyuan New Material Co., Ltd. | China | Tantalum | ||
| H.C. Starck Co., Ltd. | Thailand | Tantalum | ||
| H.C. Starck GmbH Goslar | Germany | Tantalum | ||
| H.C. Starck GmbH Laufenburg | Germany | Tantalum | ||
| H.C. Starck Hermsdorf GmbH | Germany | Tantalum | ||
| H.C. Starck Inc. | United States | Tantalum | ||
| H.C. Starck Ltd. | Japan | Tantalum | ||
| H.C. Starck Smelting GmbH & Co. KG | Germany | Tantalum | ||
| Hengyang King Xing Lifeng New Materials Co., Ltd. | China | Tantalum | ||
| Hi-Temp Specialty Metals, Inc. | United States | Tantalum | ||
| Hunan Nonferrous Metals Holding Group Co. Ltd. | China | Tantalum | ||
| JiuJiang JinXin Nonferrous Metals Co. Ltd. | China | Tantalum | ||
| Jiujiang Tanbre Co., Ltd. | China | Tantalum | ||
| Jiujiang Zhongao Tantalum & Niobium Co., Ltd. | China | Tantalum | ||
| LSM Brasil S.A. | Brazil | Tantalum | ||
| Mineração Taboca S.A. | Brazil | Tantalum | ||
| Mitsui Mining and Smelting Co., Ltd. | Japan | Tantalum | ||
| Ningxia Orient Tantalum Industry Co., Ltd. | China | Tantalum | ||
| Plansee SE Liezen | Austria | Tantalum | ||
| Plansee SE Reutte | Austria | Tantalum | ||
| Solikamsk Magnesium Works OAO | Russian Federation | Tantalum | ||
| Taki Chemical Co., Ltd. | Japan | Tantalum | ||
| Telex Metals | United States | Tantalum | ||
| Ulba Metallurgical Plant JSC | Kazakhstan | Tantalum | ||
| Yichun Jin Yang Rare Metal Co., Ltd. | China | Tantalum | ||
| Zhuzhou Cemented Carbide Group Co., Ltd. | China | Tantalum | ||
| AIM | Canada | Tin | ||
| Alpha | United States | Tin | ||
| Banka | Indonesia | Tin | ||
| China Tin Group Co., Ltd. | China | Tin | ||
| Cooperativa Metalurgica de Rondônia Ltda. | Brazil | Tin | ||
| CV Ayi Jaya | Indonesia | Tin | ||
| CV Gita Pesona | Indonesia | Tin | ||
| CV Serumpun Sebalai | Indonesia | Tin | ||
| CV United Smelting | Indonesia | Tin | ||
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| Smelter Name | Smelter Country | Metal | ||
| CV Venus Inti Perkasa | Indonesia | Tin | ||
| Dongguan City Thousand Island Metal Tin Co., Ltd. | China | Tin | ||
| Elmet S.L.U. | Spain | Tin | ||
| EM Vinto | Bolivia | Tin | ||
| Fenix Metals | Poland | Tin | ||
| Gejiu Kai Meng Industry and Trade LLC | China | Tin | ||
| Gejiu Non-Ferrous Metal Processing Co., Ltd. | China | Tin | ||
| Guangdong Zhongshi Metal Co., Ltd | China | Tin | ||
| GuangXi China Tin | China | Tin | ||
| He Nan Yu Gang | China | Tin | ||
| Jiangxi Ketai Advanced Material Co., Ltd. | China | Tin | ||
| Jiangyin Juneng Aluminum Company | China | Tin | ||
| Jun Hon Ji | China | Tin | ||
| Magnu’s Minerais Metais e Ligas Ltda. | Brazil | Tin | ||
| Malaysia Smelting Corporation (MSC) | Malaysia | Tin | ||
| Melt Metais e Ligas S.A. | Brazil | Tin | ||
| Mentok Tin Smelter | Indonesia | Tin | ||
| Metallic Resources, Inc. | United States | Tin | ||
| Metallo-Chimique N.V. | Belgium | Tin | ||
| Mineração Taboca S.A. | Brazil | Tin | ||
| Minsur | Peru | Tin | ||
| O.M. Manufacturing (Thailand) Co., Ltd. | Thailand | Tin | ||
| O.M. Manufacturing Philippines, Inc. | Philippines | Tin | ||
| OMSA | Bolivia | Tin | ||
| Operaciones Metalurgical S.A. | Bolivia | Tin | ||
| PT Aries Kencana Sejahtera | Indonesia | Tin | ||
| PT Artha Cipta Langgeng | Indonesia | Tin | ||
| PT ATD Makmur Mandiri Jaya | Indonesia | Tin | ||
| PT Babel Inti Perkasa | Indonesia | Tin | ||
| PT Bangka Prima Tin | Indonesia | Tin | ||
| PT Bangka Putra Karya | Indonesia | Tin | ||
| PT Bangka Tin Industry | Indonesia | Tin | ||
| PT Belitung Industri Sejahtera | Indonesia | Tin | ||
| PT Bukit Timah | Indonesia | Tin | ||
| PT Cipta Persada Mulia | Indonesia | Tin | ||
| PT DS Jaya Abadi | Indonesia | Tin | ||
| PT Eunindo Usaha Mandiri | Indonesia | Tin | ||
| PT Indra Eramulti Logam Industri | Indonesia | Tin | ||
| PT Inti Stania Prima | Indonesia | Tin | ||
| PT Koba Tin | Indonesia | Tin | ||
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| Smelter Name | Smelter Country | Metal | ||
| PT Mitra Stania Prima | Indonesia | Tin | ||
| PT Panca Mega Persada | Indonesia | Tin | ||
| PT Prima Timah Utama | Indonesia | Tin | ||
| PT Refined Bangka Tin | Indonesia | Tin | ||
| PT Sariwiguna Binasentosa | Indonesia | Tin | ||
| PT Stanindo Inti Perkasa | Indonesia | Tin | ||
| PT Sukses Inti Makmur | Indonesia | Tin | ||
| PT Sumber Jaya Indah | Indonesia | Tin | ||
| PT TAMBANG TIMAH (BANKA) | Indonesia | Tin | ||
| PT Timah | Indonesia | Tin | ||
| PT Timah (Persero) Tbk Kundur | Indonesia | Tin | ||
| PT Timah (Persero) Tbk Mentok | Indonesia | Tin | ||
| PT Tinindo Inter Nusa | Indonesia | Tin | ||
| PT Wahana Perkit Jaya | Indonesia | Tin | ||
| Resind Indústria e Comércio Ltda. | Brazil | Tin | ||
| Rui Da Hung | Taiwan, Province of China | Tin | ||
| Shen Mao Solder(m)Sdn Bhd | Malaysia | Tin | ||
| Soft Metais Ltda. | Brazil | Tin | ||
| Thailand Smelting and Refining Co. Ltd. | Thailand | Tin | ||
| Thaisarco | Thailand | Tin | ||
| VQB Mineral and Trading Group JSC | Vietnam | Tin | ||
| White Solder Metalurgia e Mineração Ltda. (Jin Zhou) | Brazil | Tin | ||
| Yunnan Chengfeng Non-ferrous Metals Co., Ltd. | China | Tin | ||
| Yunnan Tin Company Limited | China | Tin | ||
| A.L.M.T. TUNGSTEN Corp. | Japan | Tungsten | ||
| Chenzhou Diamond Tungsten Products Co., Ltd. | China | Tungsten | ||
| Chongyi Zhangyuan Tungsten Co., Ltd. | China | Tungsten | ||
| Fujian Jinxin Tungsten Co., Ltd. | China | Tungsten | ||
| Ganzhou Huaxing Tungsten Products Co., Ltd. | China | Tungsten | ||
| Ganzhou Seadragon W & Mo Co., Ltd. | China | Tungsten | ||
| Global Tungsten & Powders Corp | United States | Tungsten | ||
| Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten Co., Ltd. | China | Tungsten | ||
| H.C. Starck GmbH Goslar | Germany | Tungsten | ||
| H.C. Starck Smelting GmbH & Co. KG | Germany | Tungsten | ||
| Hunan Chuangda Vanadium Tungsten Co., Ltd. Wuji | China | Tungsten | ||
| Hunan Chunchang Nonferrous Metals Co., Ltd. | China | Tungsten | ||
| Hydrometallurg, JSC | Russian Federation | Tungsten | ||
| Izawa metal Co., Ltd. | Japan | Tungsten | ||
| Japan New Metals Co., Ltd. | Japan | Tungsten | ||
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| Smelter Name | Smelter Country | Metal | ||
| Jiangsu Shagang Group Huyaigang Special Steel Co., LTD | China | Tungsten | ||
| Jiangwu H.C. Starck Tungsten Products Co., Ltd. | China | Tungsten | ||
| Jiangxi Xinsheng Tungsten Industry Group Co Ltd | China | Tungsten | ||
| Kennametal Huntsville | United States | Tungsten | ||
| Niagara Refining LLC | United States | Tungsten | ||
| Nui Phao H.C. Starck Tungsten Chemicals Manufacturing LLC | Vietnam | Tungsten | ||
| Plansee | Austria | Tungsten | ||
| Qian’an City Jiuji Wire Co., LTD | China | Tungsten | ||
| Shanghai Baosteel Group Corporation | China | Tungsten | ||
| Tejing (Vietnam) Tungsten Co., Ltd. | Vietnam | Tungsten | ||
| Wolfram Bergbau und Hütten AG | Austria | Tungsten | ||
| Wolfram Company CJSC | Russian Federation | Tungsten | ||
| Xiamen Tungsten (H.C.) Co., Ltd. | China | Tungsten | ||
| Xiamen Tungsten Co Ltd | China | Tungsten | ||
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