Critical minerals brine pool
Active Definitive Contract Awarded
- Contract number
- 140M0126C0006
- Awardee
-
The University Of Mississippi UEI G1THVER8BNL4
- Awarding agency
-
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
Department of the Interior
- Obligated
- $949,560
Award facts
- Opportunity
-
- Intent to Sole-Source Orca Basin Brine Pools Special Notice · 140M0126Q0021 · Posted Jun 1, 2026
- Contract value 100% obligated
- $949,560.00 Current and potential, with all options
- Completion date 3% complete
- Current and potential, with all options
- NAICS code
- 541360 Geophysical Surveying and Mapping Services
- Set-aside
- No set-aside
- Competition
- Not Competed · 1 offer Only One Source
- Pricing
- Firm Fixed Price
- Place of performance
- University, MS 38677, USA
- Legislative mandates
-
- Employment Eligibility Verification (E-Verify) FAR subpart 22.18
- Service Contract Inventory FAR subpart 4.17
Award details come from SAM.gov/FPDS.
About this award
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.
Quick answers
Who was awarded contract 140M0126C0006?
140M0126C0006 was awarded to The University Of Mississippi by Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (Department of the Interior) on September 22, 2026.
How much is contract 140M0126C0006 worth?
The government has obligated $949,560 on 140M0126C0006.
Was contract 140M0126C0006 competed?
The extent of competition for 140M0126C0006 was not competed. The government received 1 offer.
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