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The war on conflict minerals began heating up this week, following a controversial court case and an unexpected announcement at CES. On Monday, Intel announced that all of its microprocessors released in 2014 will be free of so-called conflict minerals: a class of four materials used to fund armed groups and militias in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and other central African countries. Intel says it spent four years working to implement its supply chain program at the urging of human rights organizations and high-profile activists. The US government and other international groups say the trade of conflict minerals — including tantalum, tin, tungsten, and gold — has helped finance violent groups and regimes in the DRC, where a relentless cycle of war has killed at least 5 million and displaced countless more since the 1990s.