The Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday released  its long-awaited Form SD, a specialized disclosure form for reporting conflict mineral rule compliance and, once it re-proposes a rule vacated by a successful legal challenge, payments made by oil, gas, and mining companies to governments.

The conflict minerals rule, also in the midst of a legal challenge, was issued by the SEC in August 2012, as required by the Dodd-Frank Act. It requires companies to disclose information each calendar year on the source of tantalum, tin, gold, and tungsten, minerals that have funded violent conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and adjoining countries. Companies must conduct a “reasonable” country-of-origin inquiry to determine if the minerals originated from the covered countries; track and document the source and chain of custody; and include findings in a public report.

Among the requirements on Form SD:

Providing description of the measures a registrant took to exercise due diligence on the source and chain of custody of conflict minerals.

Filing a statement that the registrant has obtained an independent private sector audit of the Conflict Minerals Report.

A registrant that manufactures products, or contracts for products to be manufactured, that are “DRC conflict undeterminable,” must disclose the steps taken to mitigate the risk that its necessary conflict minerals benefit armed groups.

If a nationally or internationally recognized due diligence framework becomes available for the necessary conflict mineral prior to June 30, registrants must use that framework in the subsequent calendar year. If guidance does not become available until after that date, registrants are not required to use that framework until the second calendar year after it becomes available.

During the first two calendar years following November 13, 2012 for all registrants, and the first four calendar years for smaller reporting companies, they will not be required to submit an audit report of its Conflict Minerals Report for any products that are “DRC conflict undeterminable.” Subsequently, undeterminable minerals must be described as not conflict-free.

A registrant that acquires control over a company that manufactures, or contracts to manufacture, products with conflict minerals necessary to their functionality or production, and not previously obligated to provide a disclosure report, will be permitted to delay reporting on the products manufactured by the acquired company until the end of the first reporting calendar year that begins no sooner than eight months after the effective date of the acquisition.

The new Form SD, as it pertains to conflict minerals, must be filed on the SEC's EDGAR online database, no later than May 31 after the end of the issuer's most recent calendar year.