Thursday 27 October 2016

CONFLICT MINERALS REPORT
MERIT MEDICAL SYSTEMS, INC. YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2015

This Conflict Minerals Report (this “Report”) for the year ended December 31, 2015 is presented by Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (“Merit”) to comply with Rule 13p-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Rule”). The Rule was adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) to implement reporting and disclosure requirements related to conflict minerals as directed by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010. The Rule imposes certain reporting obligations on SEC registrants whose manufactured products contain conflict minerals which are necessary to the functionality or production of their products. Conflict minerals are defined as cassiterite, columbite-tantalite, gold, wolframite, and their derivatives, which are limited to tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold (“3TG”).

COMPANY OVERVIEW

Founded in 1987, Merit set out to build the world’s most customer-focused healthcare company by understanding customers’ needs, and innovating and delivering a diverse range of products that improve the lives of people, families, and communities throughout the world.

Merit’s primary products consist of inflation devices used in angioplasty and stent placement; diagnostic and therapeutic catheters used for various procedures in cardiology and radiology; diagnostic and hydrophilic products used to manage and monitor the administration of contrast media and other fluid solutions; thrombolytic catheters and fluid dispensing systems; embolotherapeutic products for the treatment of uterine fibroids, hypervascularized tumors, and arteriovenous malformations; and procedural trays, packs, and kits.

Merit maintains a diverse, multi-campus manufacturing footprint in North America and Europe with a true global distribution network focused on delivering our products and technologies to our customers.

DUE DILIGENCE

Merit determined that some of its products were likely to contain 3TG due to the anticipated presence of such minerals in certain products manufactured by or for Merit or in parts or materials obtained from suppliers.

Merit has conducted a good faith and reasonable country of origin inquiry regarding the origin of the 3TG necessary for the functionality or production of products manufactured, or contracted to be manufactured, by or for Merit. The reasonable country of origin inquiry consisted of a survey of supply-chain suppliers of parts or materials necessary for the functionality or production of products manufactured by or for Merit.

Merit utilized the ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT DUE DILIGENCE GUIDANCE FOR RESPONSIBLE SUPPLY CHAINS OF MINERALS FROM CONFLICT-AFFECTED AND HIGH-RISK AREAS, to the extent practicable and reasonable given the complexity of Merit’s particular supply chain and industry. Merit sought to identify the originating smelter or refinery for 3TG in an attempt to discover whether or not the smelter or refinery had been determined to be conflict-free by existing industry and/or trade association programs.

For the 2015 reporting year, Merit surveyed 782 suppliers with a 56% response rate. The response rate was a material improvement over the 2014 reporting year.

RESULTS

Of the suppliers that responded to Merit’s survey questionnaire, the vast majority responded that their products, parts, or processes either did not contain 3TG or that any 3TG contained in their products, parts, or processes did not originate in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or adjoining countries. A significant majority of Merit’s suppliers that reported the presence of 3TG identified the smelter facilities providing such minerals as being “conflict free,” as determined by programs such as the Conflict Free Smelter Program of the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition and the Global e-Sustainability Initiative or that the supply of 3TG originated from scrap or recycled sources. A small number of suppliers responded that their smelters confirmed sourcing from the Democratic Republic of Congo or adjoining countries, but these suppliers were unable to confirm that the smelters were compliant. Because not all of Merit’s suppliers adequately responded to Merit’s multiple inquiries, Merit has been unable to determine the precise origin of some of the 3TG minerals contained in or utilized in the manufacture of such products for the year ended December 31, 2015.

Based on Merit’s due diligence efforts, Merit does not have sufficient information to conclusively determine all of the smelters or the countries of origin for the 3TG minerals in all of Merit’s products. However, based on the information provided by Merit’s suppliers, Appendix I lists the known smelters and Appendix II contains the known countries of origin.

INDEPENDENT AUDIT

This Report has not been subject to an independent private sector audit as allowed under the SEC’s April 2014 guidance, which was issued in response to pending litigation.

POLICIES APPLICABLE TO CONFLICT MINERALS

As part of its due diligence efforts, Merit also has developed a Conflict Minerals Policy (available at http://www.merit.com/about/conflict-minerals-policy/) and a Code of Conduct for Suppliers (available at http://www.merit.com/about/code-of-conduct-for-suppliers/). These two documents outline the expectations Merit has for its suppliers, as well as steps Merit may choose to take for any non-compliance by its suppliers with the Policy or Code of Conduct.

STEPS TO BE TAKEN IN 2016

Merit plans to continue to improve its due diligence process in 2016 in order to further mitigate the risk addressed by the Rule. These improvements include:

 Continue to strengthen engagement with relevant suppliers.
 Review third party programs to further improve Merit’s conflict minerals process and obtain accurate and complete information for smelters.
 Continue to provide feedback to suppliers regarding inadequate reporting or completion of the CMRT assessment.


Smelter List and Country of Origin List

Metal Smelter Name (* indicates CFSI Compliant Conflict-Free Smelter, ** indicates CFSI Active Smelter)

Gold Advanced Chemical Company **
Gold Aida Chemical Industries Co. Ltd.*
Gold Al Etihad Gold Refinery DMCC
Gold Allgemeine Gold-und Silberscheideanstalt A.G.*
Gold Almalyk Mining and Metallurgical Complex (AMMC)**
Gold AngloGold Ashanti Córrego do Sítio Minerção*
Gold Argor-Heraeus SA*
Gold Asahi Pretec Corp*
Gold Asaka Riken Co Ltd*
Gold Atasay Kuyumculuk Sanayi Ve Ticaret A.S.
Gold Aurubis AG*
Gold Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (Central Bank of the Philippines)*
Gold Boliden AB*
Gold C. Hafner GmbH + Co. KG*
Gold Caridad Gold CCR Refinery – Glencore Canada Corporation*
Gold Cendres + Métaux SA**
Gold Chimet S.p.A.*
Gold Chugai Mining
Gold Daejin Indus Co., Ltd.**
Gold Daye Non-Ferrous Metals Mining Ltd.
Gold Do Sung Corporation**
Gold Doduco*
Gold Dowa*
Gold Eco-System Recycling Co., Ltd.*
Gold Emirates Gold DMCC*
Gold Faggi Enrico S.p.A.**
Gold Fidelity Printers and Refiners Ltd.
Gold FSE Novosibirsk Refinery*
Gold Gansu Seemine Material Hi-Tech Co., Ltd.
Gold Geib Refining Corporation**
Gold Great Wall Precious Metals Co., Ltd. of CBPM
Gold Guangdong Jinding Gold Limited
Gold Guoda Safina High-Tech Environmental Refinery Co., Ltd.
Gold Hangzhou Fuchunjiang Smelting Co., Ltd.
Gold Heimerle + Meule GmbH*
Gold Heraeus Ltd. Hong Kong*
Gold Heraeus Precious Metals GmbH & Co. KG*
Gold Hunan Chenzhou Mining Group Co., Ltd.
Gold Hwasung CJ Co., Ltd.
Gold Inner Mongolia Qiankun Gold and Silver Refinery Share Company Limited*
Gold Ishifuku Metal Industry Co., Ltd.*
Gold Istanbul Gold Refinery*
Gold Japan Mint*
Gold Jiangxi Copper Company Limited*
Gold Johnson Matthey Inc*
Gold Johnson Matthey Ltd*
Gold JSC Ekaterinburg Non-Ferrous Metal Processing Plant*
Gold JSC Uralectromed*
Gold JX Nippon Mining & Metals Co., Ltd*
Gold Kaloti Precious Metals
Gold Kazakhmys Smelting LLC
Gold Kazzinc Ltd*
Gold Kennecott Utah Copper LLC*
Gold Gold Kojima Chemicals Co., Ltd*
Gold Korea Zinc Co. Ltd.**
Gold Kyrgyzaltyn JSC
Gold L' azurde Company For Jewelry
Gold Lingbao Gold Company Limited 
Gold Lingbao Jinyuan Tonghui Refinery Co., Ltd.
Gold LS-NIKKO Copper Inc.*
Gold Luoyang Zijin Yinhui Gold Refinery 
Co., Ltd. Gold Materion*
Gold Matsuda Sangyo Co., Ltd.*
Gold Met-Mex Peñoles, S.A.*
Gold Metalor Technologies (Hong Kong) Ltd*
Gold Metalor Technologies (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.*
Gold Metalor Technologies (Suzhou) Ltd.**
Gold Metalor Technologies SA*
Gold Metalor USA Refining Corporation*
Gold Mitsubishi Materials Corporation*
Gold Mitsui Mining and Smelting Co., Ltd.*
Gold MMTC-PAMP India Pvt., Ltd.*
Gold Morris and Watson
Gold Moscow Special Alloys Processing Plant*
Gold Gold Navoi Mining and Metallurgical Combinat**
Gold Nihon Material Co. LTD*
Gold Ögussa Österreichische Gold- und Silber-Scheideanstalt GmbH*
Gold Ohio Precious Metals, LLC*
Gold Ohura Precious Metal Industry Co., Ltd*
Gold OJSC “The Gulidov Krasnoyarsk Non-Ferrous Metals Plant” (OJSC Krastvetmet)*
Gold PAMP SA*
Gold Penglai Penggang Gold Industry Co., Ltd. 
Gold Prioksky Plant of Non-Ferrous Metals*
Gold PT Aneka Tambang (Persero) Tbk*
Gold PX Précinox SA*
Gold Rand Refinery (Pty) Ltd*
Gold Republic Metals Corporation*
Gold Royal Canadian Mint*
Gold Sabin Metal Corp.
Gold Samduck Precious Metals**
Gold SAMWON METALS Corp.
Gold SAXONIA Edelmetalle GmbH**
Gold Schone Edelmetaal*
Gold SEMPSA Joyería Platería SA*
Gold Shandong Tiancheng Biological Gold Industrial Co., Ltd.
Gold Shandong Zhaojin Gold & Silver Refinery Co. Ltd*
Gold Sichuan Tianze Precious Metals Co., Ltd.*
Gold Singway Technology Co., Ltd.*
Gold So Accurate Group, Inc.
Gold SOE Shyolkovsky Factory of Secondary Precious Metals*
Gold Solar Applied Materials Technology Corp.*
Gold Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Ltd.*
Gold T.C.A S.p.A*
Gold Tanaka Kikinzoku Kogyo K.K.*
Gold The Refinery of Shandong Gold Mining Co. Ltd*
Gold Tokuriki Honten Co. Ltd*
Gold Tongling nonferrous Metals Group Co.,Ltd
Gold Torecom**
Gold Umicore Brasil Ltda*
Gold Umicore Precious Metals Thailand*
Gold Umicore SA Business Unit Precious Metals Refining*
Gold United Precious Metal Refining, Inc.*
Gold Valcambi SA*
Gold Western Australian Mint trading as The Perth Mint*
Gold WIELAND Edelmetalle GmbH**
Gold YAMAMOTO PRECIOUS METAL CO., LTD.*
Gold Yokohama Metal Co Ltd*
Gold Yunnan Copper Industry Co Ltd
Gold Zhongyuan Gold Smelter of Zhongjin Gold Corporation*
Gold Zijin Mining Group Co. Ltd*

Tantalum Changsha South
Tantalum Niobium Co., Ltd.*
Tantalum Conghua Tantalum and Niobium Smeltry*
Tantalum D Block Metals, LLC*
Tantalum Duoluoshan*
Tantalum Exotech Inc.*
Tantalum F&X Electro-Materials Ltd.*
Tantalum FIR Metals & Resource Ltd.*
Tantalum Global Advanced Metals Boyertown*
Tantalum Global Advanced Metals*
Tantalum Guangdong Zhiyuan New Material Co., Ltd.*
Tantalum H.C. Starck Co., Ltd.*
Tantalum H.C. Starck GmbH Goslar*
Tantalum H.C. Starck GmbH Laufenburg*
Tantalum H.C. Starck Hermsdorf GmbH*
Tantalum H.C. Starck Inc.*
Tantalum H.C. Starck Ltd.*
Tantalum H.C. Starck Smelting GmbH & Co.KG*
Tantalum Hengyang King Xing Lifeng New Materials Co., Ltd.*
Tantalum Hi-Temp* Tantalum Jiangxi Dinghai Tantalum & Niobium Co., Ltd.* Tantalum JiuJiang JinXin Nonferrous Metals Co., Ltd.*
Tantalum Jiujiang Tanbre Co., Ltd.*
Tantalum Jiujiang Zhongao Tantalum & Niobium Co., Ltd.*
Tantalum KEMET Blue Metals*
Tantalum Kemet Blue Powder*
Tantalum King-Tan Tantalum Industry Ltd* Tantalum LSM Brasil S.A.* Tantalum Metallurgical Products India (Pvt.) Ltd.*
Tantalum Mineração Taboca S.A.*
Tantalum Mitsui Mining & Smelting*
Tantalum Molycorp Silmet A.S.*
Tantalum Ningxia Orient Tantalum Industry Co., Ltd.*
Tantalum Plansee SE Liezen* Tantalum Plansee SE Reutte*
Tantalum QuantumClean* Tantalum Resind Indústria e Comércio Ltda.*
Tantalum RFH Tantalum Smeltry Co., Ltd* Tantalum Solikamsk Metal Works* Tantalum Taki Chemicals* Tantalum Telex*
Tantalum Tranzact, Inc.* Tantalum Ulba*
Tantalum XinXing HaoRong Electronic Material Co., Ltd.*
Tantalum Yichun Jin Yang Rare Metal Co., Ltd.*
Tantalum Zhuzhou Cement Carbide* Tin Alpha*

Tin An Vinh Joint Stock Mineral Processing Company**
Tin Chenzhou Yunxiang Mining Smelting Company LTD**
Tin China Tin Group Co., Ltd.*
Tin CNMC (Guangxi) PGMA Co. Ltd. Tin Cooper Santa*
Tin CV Ayi Jaya* Tin CV Gita Pesona* Tin CV JusTindo*
Tin CV Nurjanah*
Tin CV Serumpun Sebalai* Tin CV United Smelting*
Tin CV Venus Inti Perkasa* Tin Dowa*
Tin Electro-Mechanical Facility of the Cao Bang Minerals & Metallurgy Joint Stock Company**
Tin Elmet S.L.U. (Metallo Group)*
Tin EM Vinto*
Tin Estanho de Rondônia S.A.
Tin Fenix Metals*
Tin Gejiu Jin Ye Mineral Co., Ltd.**
Tin Gejiu Kai Meng Industry and Trade LLC**
Tin Gejiu Non-Ferrous Metal Processing Co. Ltd.*
Tin Gejiu Yunxin Nonferrous Electrolysis Co., Ltd.**
Tin Gejiu Zi-Li Tin Huichang Jinshunda Tin Co. Ltd
Tin Jiangxi Ketai Advanced Material Co., Ltd.*
Tin Jiangxi Nanshan Tin Linwu Xianggui Ore Smelting Co., Ltd.
Tin Magnu's Minerais Metais e Ligas LTDA*
Tin Malaysia Smelting Corporation (MSC)*
Tin Melt Metais e Ligas S/A*
Tin Metallic Resources Inc*
Tin METALLO-CHIMIQUE N.V. (MC)*
Tin Mineração Taboca S.A.* Tin Minsur*
Tin Mitsubishi Materials Corporation*
Tin Nghe Tinh Non-Ferrous Metals Joint Stock Company**
Tin O.M. Manufacturing (Thailand) Co., Ltd.*
Tin O.M. Manufacturing Philippines, Inc.*
Tin Operaciones Metalurgical S.A.*
Tin Phoenix Metal Ltd.**
Tin PT Artha Cipta Langgeng*
Tin PT ATD Makmur Mandiri Jaya*
Tin PT Babel Inti Perkasa*
Tin PT Bangka Prima Tin*
Tin PT Bangka Tin Industry*
Tin PT Belitung Industri Sejahtera*
Tin PT BilliTin Makmur Lestari*
Tin PT Bukit Timah*
Tin PT Cipta Persada Mulia*
Tin PT DS Jaya Abadi*
Tin PT DS Jaya Abadi**
Tin PT Eunindo Usaha Mandiri*
Tin PT Inti Stania Prima*
Tin PT Karimun Mining**
Tin PT Mitra Stania Prima*
Tin PT Panca Mega Persada*
Tin PT Prima Timah Utama*
Tin PT REFINED BANGKA TIN*
Tin PT Sariwiguna Binasentosa*
Tin PT Stanindo Inti Perkasa*
Tin PT Sukses Inti Makmur*
Tin PT Sumber Jaya Indah*
Tin PT Tambang Timah*
Tin PT Timah (Persero) Tbk Mentok*
Tin PT Tinindo Inter Nusa*
Tin PT Tirus Putra Mandiri Tin PT Tommy Utama*
Tin PT Wahana Perkit Jaya*
Tin Resind Indústria e Comércio Ltda.*
Tin Rui Da Hung* Tin Soft Metais, Ltda.* Tin Thaisarco*
Tin Tuyen Quang Non-Ferrous Metals Joint Stock Company**
Tin VQB Mineral and Trading Group JSC*
Tin White Solder Metalurgia e Mineração Ltda.*
Tin Yunnan Chengfeng Non-ferrous Metals Co.,Ltd.**
Tin Yunnan Tin Company, Ltd.* Tungsten A.L.M.T. Corp.*

Tungsten Asia Tungsten Products Vietnam Ltd.*
Tungsten Chenzhou Diamond Tungsten Products Co., Ltd.*
Tungsten Chongyi Zhangyuan Tungsten Co Ltd*
Tungsten Dayu Jincheng Tungsten Industry Co., Ltd.
Tungsten Dayu Weiliang Tungsten Co., Ltd.
Tungsten Fujian Jinxin Tungsten Co., Ltd.*
Tungsten Ganxian Shirui New Material Co., Ltd.
Tungsten Ganzhou Huaxing Tungsten Products Co., Ltd.*
Tungsten Ganzhou Jiangwu Ferrotungsten Co., Ltd.*
Tungsten Ganzhou Non-ferrous Metals Smelting Co., Ltd.
Tungsten Ganzhou Non-ferrous Metals Smelting Co., Ltd.**
Tungsten Ganzhou Seadragon W & Mo Co., Ltd.*
Tungsten Ganzhou Yatai Tungsten Co., Ltd.*
Tungsten Global Tungsten & Powders Corp.*
Tungsten Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten Co., Ltd.*
Tungsten H.C. Starck GmbH*
Tungsten H.C. Starck Smelting GmbH & Co.KG*
Tungsten Hunan Chenzhou Mining Group Co., Ltd.*
Tungsten Hunan Chuangda Vanadium Tungsten Co., Ltd. Wuji*
Tungsten Hunan Chun-Chang Nonferrous Smelting & Concentrating Co., Ltd.* Tungsten Hydrometallurg, JSC*
Tungsten Japan New Metals Co Ltd*
Tungsten Jiangwu H.C. Starck Tungsten Products Co., Ltd.**
Tungsten Jiangxi Gan Bei Tungsten Co., Ltd.*
Tungsten Jiangxi Minmetals Gao'an Non-ferrous Metals Co., Ltd.
Tungsten Jiangxi Xinsheng Tungsten Industry Co., Ltd.**
Tungsten Jiangxi Xiushui Xianggan Nonferrous Metals Co., Ltd.*
Tungsten Jiangxi Yaosheng Tungsten Co., Ltd.**
Tungsten Kennametal Fallon**
Tungsten Kennametal Huntsville*
Tungsten Malipo Haiyu Tungsten Co., Ltd.*
Tungsten Niagara Refining LLC*
Tungsten Nui Phao H.C. Starck
Tungsten Chemicals Manufacturing LLC*
Tungsten Tejing (Vietnam) Tungsten Co., Ltd.*
Tungsten Vietnam Youngsun
Tungsten Industry Co., Ltd*
Tungsten Wolfram Bergbau und Hütten AG*
Tungsten Wolfram Company CJSC Tungsten Xiamen Tungsten (H.C.) Co., Ltd.* Tungsten Xiamen Tungsten Co., Ltd*
Tungsten Xinhai Rendan Shaoguan Tungsten Co., Ltd.*


APPENDIX II

Known Countries of Origin

Australia
Bolivia
Brazil
Canada
China
Democratic Republic of Congo
Ethiopia
Germany
Indonesia
Italy
Japan
Korea
Peru
Portugal
Russia
Rwanda
South Africa
Spain
Switzerland
Taiwan
Thailand
United States of America

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