RMAP Certification: A Guide for Tin, Tantalum, Tungsten and Gold Suppliers
RMAP (the Responsible Minerals Assurance Process) is the audit program run by the Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI) to verify responsible sourcing of tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold, but it doesn't audit most of the companies that get asked about it. RMAP audits are conducted specifically on smelters, refiners and recyclers, the facilities that process raw mineral material into usable metal. If your company buys or sells components, finished products, or materials containing these metals without smelting or refining them yourself, RMAP doesn't audit you directly, and this article explains what actually applies to you instead, along with how the audit itself works for the facilities that do go through it.
What is RMAP?
RMI began in 2008 as the Conflict-Free Sourcing Initiative, founded by members of the Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) and the Global e-Sustainability Initiative (GeSI), and RMI now operates as an initiative of the RBA. RMAP is RMI's assurance program, developed to meet the requirements of the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas, the EU Conflict Minerals Regulation, and the US Dodd-Frank Act's conflict minerals provisions.
RMI maintains separate standards for different metals, including standards specific to tin and tantalum, tungsten, and gold, plus a broader all-minerals standard. A facility is assessed against whichever standard applies to the metals it processes.
Who actually gets an RMAP audit
RMAP audits apply to smelters, refiners and recyclers, referred to collectively as SORs. This is a deliberate design choice: RMI targets the smelting and refining stage because it's a relatively concentrated point in an otherwise sprawling supply chain, with far fewer facilities than there are mines, traders, component makers or finished-goods manufacturers upstream and downstream of it. Verifying responsible sourcing at that one chokepoint does more to clean up the wider supply chain than trying to audit every company that ever touches the metal.
If your company operates a smelter, refinery or recycling facility that processes tin, tantalum, tungsten or gold, RMAP is the audit your customers are likely asking about, and the sections below on how the assessment works apply directly to you.
What if you're not a smelter or refiner?
Most companies that get asked about RMAP, including component manufacturers, traders, and finished-goods producers such as jewellers and electronics assemblers, fall into this category. If that's you, RMAP doesn't assess your company directly. What your due diligence actually involves is tracing your supply chain back to the smelters and refiners you rely on, and confirming that those facilities are RMAP conformant.
The main tool for this is the Conflict Minerals Reporting Template (CMRT), a free, standardised template maintained by RMI that covers tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold. Rather than reporting on your own operations, you complete the CMRT to disclose which smelters and refiners are present in your supply chain, and you typically request the same information from your own suppliers, so the disclosure passes up the chain until it reaches the metal's source. RMI publishes a public list of RMAP conformant and active facilities, so once you know which smelters and refiners are in your supply chain, you can check their status directly rather than relying only on a supplier's word for it.
In practice, this means your own due diligence work is less about preparing for an audit of your own facility and more about supply chain mapping: knowing which SORs process the metal you use, requesting that information from suppliers who may not volunteer it, and following up when a named facility isn't on the conformant list.
What the RMAP audit actually checks, for smelters and refiners
RMAP assessments focus on a facility's management systems and sourcing practices rather than testing the physical metal itself. Assessors evaluate whether the smelter or refiner has documented, working processes for identifying where its input material comes from and managing the risks associated with that sourcing, consistent with the OECD Due Diligence Guidance's five-step framework. This is a company-level, risk-based review rather than a batch-by-batch material trace.
Assessments are carried out by independent, RMI-approved third-party assessors, while RMI itself manages the programme centrally, including scheduling, finance and quality control. Once a facility passes, it's added to RMI's public conformant list for the relevant metal, which is the reference point that downstream companies check against.
A conformant result isn't permanent. Assessments remain valid for a period of one to three years depending on the facility's circumstances, after which reassessment is required to remain on the conformant list.
Where to start, depending on your position in the supply chain
If you operate a smelter, refinery or recycling facility, the practical starting point is understanding which of RMI's mineral-specific standards applies to what you process, and reviewing your existing sourcing documentation against the OECD due diligence steps before an assessor does.
If you're a component manufacturer, trader, or finished-goods producer, the starting point is different: identifying which smelters and refiners actually sit in your supply chain, which is often less straightforward than it sounds once multiple tiers of suppliers are involved, and building a process for collecting and updating that information through the CMRT on an ongoing basis rather than as a one-off exercise. This overlaps directly with the responsible minerals due diligence expectations already built into other standards a supplier might be certifying against, including the RBA Code of Conduct's requirement to exercise due diligence on the source and chain of custody of these same metals.
→ See: RBA Code of Conduct Certification: What It Actually Requires
Not sure where your supply chain actually stands?
Mapping which smelters and refiners are genuinely in your supply chain, and confirming their conformant status, is often more work than companies expect once it involves chasing information through several supplier tiers. If you'd like a hand working out where the gaps are likely to be for your specific supply chain, get in touch and we can talk through it.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to get RMAP certified?
Only if you operate a smelter, refinery or recycling facility that processes tin, tantalum, tungsten or gold. RMAP audits these facilities directly. Companies further down the supply chain, including component manufacturers, traders and finished-goods producers, aren't assessed under RMAP themselves.
If I'm not a smelter or refiner, what do I actually need to do?
You need to identify the smelters and refiners in your supply chain, typically by completing RMI's Conflict Minerals Reporting Template (CMRT) and requesting the same from your own suppliers, and confirm that those facilities appear on RMI's conformant list for the relevant metal.
How long is an RMAP conformant assessment valid for?
Assessments remain valid for one to three years depending on the facility's circumstances, after which the facility needs to be reassessed to stay on RMI's conformant list.
What metals does RMAP cover?
RMI maintains separate standards for tin and tantalum, tungsten, and gold, along with a broader all-minerals standard, and assesses each facility against whichever standard applies to the metals it processes.