The fog is beginning to clear. High-tech and other types of manufacturers are getting a better idea of what they must do in order to conform to new requirements for disclosing the presence in their products of conflict minerals from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and neighboring states. Still, a number of questions remain unanswered.

Now that corporations are "persons," I suppose it's no stretch to describe supply chains as "mature" or "immature." In fact, the words are especially useful when it comes to determining a company's level of supply-chain responsibility.

No one appears completely happy with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's new rule on tracking the presence of conflict minerals from the Democratic Republic of the Congo in high-tech and other types of products. Comments on SEC's action range from outright opposition to quibbling over details.

Moving at the blinding speed of bureaucracy, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has finally adopted a rule that requires manufacturers to report on their use of conflict minerals from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.