UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM SD
SPECIALIZED DISCLOSURE REPORT
NANOPHASE TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
| Delaware | 0-22333 | 36-3687863 |
| (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation) | (Commission File Number) | (IRS Employer Identification No.) |
1319 Marquette Drive, Romeoville, Illinois 60446
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)
Jaime Escobar
Chief Financial Officer
(630) 771-6705
(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, 2017.
Section 1 – Conflict Mineral Disclosure
| Item 1.01 | Conflict Mineral Disclosure |
This Form SD of Nanophase Technologies Corporation (the “Company”) is filed pursuant to Rule 13p-1 promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Rule”), for the reporting period January 1, 2017 to December 31, 2017.
The Rule requires disclosure of certain information when a company manufactures or contracts to manufacture products for which the minerals specified in the Rule are necessary to the functionality or production of those products. The specified minerals are gold, columbite-tantalite (coltan), cassiterite and wolframite, including their derivatives, which are limited to tantalum, tin and tungsten (the “Conflict Minerals”). The “Covered Countries” for the purposes of the Rule are the Democratic Republic of the Congo and adjoining countries, which include the Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, South Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia and Angola.
The Company is an advanced materials and applications developer and commercial manufacturer with an integrated family of materials technologies. The Company produces engineered nano and “non-nano” materials for use in a variety of diverse markets: personal care including sunscreens as active ingredients and in fully formulated cosmetics of its own design, architectural coatings, industrial coating applications, abrasion-resistant additives, plastics additives, medical diagnostics, energy (including solar control) and a variety of surface finishing technologies (polishing) applications, including optics. The Company has also expanded its offering beyond active ingredients to include targeted full formulations of sunscreen and skin care products, marketed and sold by its wholly-owned subsidiary Solésence®, LLC.
The Company conducted an analysis of its products and concluded that its solar control applications and certain of its coating applications, which contain tin and/or tungsten (the “Products”), are its only products for which a Conflict Mineral is necessary to the functionality or production of such product. Purchases of tungsten used in the Products during calendar year 2017 was from only one supplier . No tin purchases were made in 2017.
Reasonable Country of Origin Inquiry
The Company conducted a good faith reasonable country of origin inquiry regarding the tin and/or tungsten in the Products. The Company believes its good faith reasonable country of origin inquiry was reasonably designed to determine whether any of the Conflict Minerals contained in the Products originated in the Covered Countries and whether any of the Conflict Minerals contained in the Products were from recycled or scrap sources.
In particular, in conducting its reasonable country of origin inquiry, the Company contacted its supplier of the tungsten utilized in the Products and received written representation from the supplier that the tungsten, as applicable, that the Company used in the Products was not sourced from the Covered Countries or was from recycled or scrap sources. Based on this reasonable country of origin inquiry, the Company determined that it has no reason to believe that the Conflict Minerals necessary to the functionality or production of the Products may have originated in the Covered Countries.
This Form SD is publicly available on the Company’s website at www.nanophase.com on the Investor Relations page, under the heading “Conflict Minerals Disclosure.”
| Item 1.02 | Exhibit |
Not applicable.
Section 2 – Exhibits
| Item 2.01 | Exhibits |
None.
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 undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
Dated: May 30, 2018
| NANOPHASE TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION | |
|
By: /s/ Jaime Escobar | |
|
Name: Jaime Escobar Title: Chief Financial Officer |