The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management awarded a $949,560 definitive contract to The University of Mississippi for critical minerals brine pool geophysical, geological, and geochemical data acquisition in the Orca Basin on the Gulf of America Outer Continental Shelf on September 22, 2026, on a sole-source basis under FAR 6.103-1.
Work includes deep-water surveys using autonomous underwater vehicles and remotely operated vehicles to perform seafloor and subseafloor surveys and sampling in support of BOEM's statutory responsibilities under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act for evaluating mineral resources. Deliverables encompass high-resolution AUV geophysical mapping (multibeam bathymetry, backscatter, sidescan mosaics, subbottom profiling), survey design and cruise planning with post-processing and NOAA-compliant metadata, seafloor geological sampling with laboratory analyses (XRD, SEM/EDS, ICP-MS/OES), water-column and brine sampling for critical mineral indicators, integrated maps, sample catalogs, analytical results, and a final report on critical mineral potential. The contract is firm-fixed-price. Place of performance is University, Mississippi. The period of performance runs through September 30, 2029. NAICS code 541360 (Geophysical Surveying and Mapping Services) applies.