RFI_Request.pdf

DESCRIPTION/SPECIFICATIONS/STATEMENT OF

WORK INTRODUCTION

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) through the Marine Minerals Program has worked to identify sand resources across the Gulf of America (GOA). These resources are economically valuable because they are used in beach replenishment and other coastal protection and restoration projects. Recent studies have shown strong evidence that the offshore sand may contain concentrations of heavy and critical minerals, adding to its economic value.

Locating sources of critical minerals in sediment resources in the GOA region and determining their concentrations could provide a secure and reliable supply of critical minerals related to our national security and economic prosperity.

The BOEM’s intent with the request for information (RFI) is to find a vendor that can identify critical mineral deposits along the Texas Coast by analyzing 318 samples from 159 cores collected and are stored in Boca Raton, FL and Austin, TX. The goal of the project is to support BOEM’s National Offshore Critical Mineral Inventory (NOCMI) to characterize critical mineral resources on the OCS. This proposed work aligns with President Trump's Executive Orders 14285, Unleashing America's Offshore Critical Minerals and Resources, and 14154, Unleashing American Energy, which prioritize unleashing America’s potential to explore and develop OCS critical mineral resources. Furthermore, the work is in support of 30 CFR PART 581—Leasing of Marine Minerals other than oil, gas, or Sulphur in the Outer Continental Shelf.

SOURCES SOUGHT INFORMATION

BOEM/BSEE is issuing this RFI as part of market research in accordance with federal acquisition regulation (FAR) Part 10 to determine the availability and technical capability of sources proposing to identify critical mineral deposits along the Texas Coast by sampling these cores for critical minerals.

This Request for Information / Sources Sought Synopsis does not constitute an Invitation for Bids (IFB), a Request for Quote (RFQ), or a Request for Proposal (RFP) and it should not be construed as a commitment of any kind by the Government to issue a formal solicitation or ultimately award a contract. The U.S. Government is in no way liable to pay for or reimburse any companies or entities that respond to this announcement. Any costs incurred by interested vendors in response to this announcement or incurred for participation in this market survey will NOT be reimbursed. All information marked as proprietary information will be safeguarded to prevent disclosures to non-Government personnel and entities. There is no bid package or solicitation document associated with this announcement. Response to this RFI is strictly voluntary. NO SOLICITATION DOCUMENTS EXIST AT THIS TIME.

Restricted or proprietary components, interfaces and equipment, or proprietary data provided should be clearly marked and presented as an addendum to the non-restricted/non-proprietary information. In the absence of such identification BOEM will assume to have unlimited rights to all the technical data in the information paper.

BOEM is seeking information from vendors that have the capability of performing the work described below in the Objective and Scope. Responses must be identified by RFI No.

DOIMFBO260003 and the following information should be included in a cover letter to your response:

1. Company name

2. SAM.gov UEI number

3. Mailing address

4. E-mail address

5. Telephone number

6. Web site address (if available)

7. Business Size and Eligibility under U.S. Government socio-economic programs (i.e., type of business - large, small, small-disadvantaged, Woman-owned, veteran-owned, or 8(a)) under North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code associated with the project.

8. Confirm if your company is registered in the System for Award Management

(SAM).

9. Any established pricing catalogs, rough of magnitudes or additional pricing information an interested party is willing to share regarding their products. This information would be for market research information only.

10. NAICS code recommendations for this scope (if any)

There is a ten (10) page limit to this response. Responses should be submitted to:

bradford_kelly@ios.doi.gov

Based upon responses received, BOEM representatives may choose to meet (virtually) with mailto:Responses%20should%20be%20submitted%20to:%20bradford_kelly@ios.doi.gov mailto:Responses%20should%20be%20submitted%20to:%20bradford_kelly@ios.doi.gov potential vendors and hold one-on-one exchanges. Such exchanges will be considered further Market Research intended to obtain clarifications of potential capability and/or experience to assist BOEM in defining and developing its requirements. While a response to this RFI is not mandatory, the likelihood of engaging in one-on-one exchanges may increase the likelihood of engaging these market research efforts with interested parties. Any participation in these efforts will not be reimbursed.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this RFI is to identify vendors that have the capabilities to identify critical mineral deposits along the Texas OCS by conducting elemental/mineralogical analyses on 318 samples from 159 cores (Map and Core Locations in Appendices 1 below). The cores are in storage in Austin, TX and Boca Raton, FL. Elemental/mineralogical analyses should include basic testing to determine the elements found in the samples. Based on these results, select samples should be further processed through more specialized equipment to separate out the heavy minerals, calculate their distribution and mass, and determine their provenance, composition, and recoverability.

SCOPE

The vendor must have the ability to travel to Austin, TX and Boca Raton, FL where the cores are being stored, collecting samples from those cores, and conducting elemental / mineralogical analyses on those samples. Based on initial core descriptions, a minimum of 2 samples from each core should be identified prior to collection and discussed with BOEM geologists .

Samples should be collected by an experienced geologist and shipped to the testing facility.

Cores will remain in storage. All collected samples are to be run through grain size analysis using a Laser Particle Size Analysis (LPSA). All samples should be analyzed with an exploration style analysis to determine the elements in each sample. The analysis should be conducted on the relevant critical minerals in the Gulf of America from the final 2025 List of Critical Minerals, published to the Federal Register. After elemental analysis is completed, the need for additional testing will be discussed with BOEM. Specified samples should be analyzed to separate out the heavy minerals, calculate their distribution and mass, and determine their provenance, composition, and recoverability.

Appendix 1

Table 1 Core Name Existing/Proposed Longitude Latitude GLO-UPOCS-VC-24-01 Existing -94.600936 28.861608 GLO-UPOCS-VC-24-02 Existing -94.630929 28.803581 GLO-UPOCS-VC-24-03 Existing -94.582719 28.83013 GLO-UPOCS-VC-24-04 Existing -94.570474 28.809904 GLO-UPOCS-VC-24-05 Existing -94.5591 28.790483 GLO-UPOCS-VC-24-06 Existing -94.508205 28.849211 GLO-UPOCS-VC-24-07 Existing -94.519271 28.868224 GLO-UPOCS-VC-24-08 Existing -94.538412 28.900953 GLO-UPOCS-VC-24-09 Existing -94.469195 28.891892 GLO-UPOCS-VC-24-10 Existing -94.42328 28.886237 GLO-UPOCS-VC-24-11 Existing -94.438873 28.913118 GLO-UPOCS-VC-24-12 Existing -94.4521 28.935765 GLO-UPOCS-VC-24-13 Existing -94.339483 28.962081 GLO-UPOCS-VC-24-14 Existing -94.364656 29.005266 GLO-UPOCS-VC-24-15 Existing -94.385271 29.040234 GLO-UPOCS-VC-24-16 Existing -94.339021 29.108178 GLO-UPOCS-VC-24-17 Existing -94.310045 29.058443 GLO-UPOCS-VC-24-18 Existing -94.297043 29.036087 GLO-UPOCS-VC-24-19 Existing -94.24692 29.023056 GLO-UPOCS-VC-24-20 Existing -94.262848 29.087246 GLO-UPOCS-VC-24-21 Existing -94.22756 29.099858 GLO-UPOCS-VC-24-22 Existing -94.208653 29.067792 GLO-UPOCS-VC-24-23 Existing -94.133372 29.085598 GLO-UPOCS-VC-24-24 Existing -94.149483 29.112684 GLO-UPOCS-VC-24-25 Existing -94.165657 29.140441 GLO-UPOCS-VC-24-26 Existing -94.176504 29.159406 GLO-UPOCS-VC-24-27 Existing -94.132262 29.156532 GLO-UPOCS-VC-24-28 Existing -94.066996 29.154516 GLO-UPOCS-VC-24-29 Existing -94.039218 29.106894 GLO-UPOCS-VC-24-30 Existing -93.996204 29.106511 GLO-UPOCS-VC-24-31 Existing -93.723049 29.557474 GLO-UPOCS-VC-24-32 Existing -93.699528 29.571003 GLO-UPOCS-VC-24-33 Existing -93.701836 29.569952 GLO-UPOCS-VC-24-34 Existing -93.682165 29.560475 GLO-UPOCS-VC-24-35 Existing -93.674835 29.548111 GLO-UPOCS-VC-24-36 Existing -93.887484 29.397446 GLO-UPOCS-VC-24-37 Existing -93.983904 29.379341 GLO-UPOCS-VC-24-38 Existing -93.98346 29.341362 GLO-UPOCS-VC-24-39 Existing -94.024511 29.338578

GLO-UPOCS-VC-24-40 Existing -94.09363 29.310208 GLO-UPOCS-VC-24-41 Existing -94.206086 29.209708 GLO-UPOCS-VC-24-42 Existing -94.071276 29.225361 GLO-UPOCS-VC-24-43 Existing -94.144396 29.287048 GLO-UPOCS-VC-24-44 Existing -93.97265 29.249304 GLO-UPOCS-VC-24-45 Existing -93.929707 29.286334 GLO-UPOCS-VC-24-46 Existing -93.792066 29.344032 GLO-UPOCS-VC-24-47 Existing -93.717297 29.399558 GLO-UPOCS-VC-24-48 Existing -93.700328 29.40713 GLO-UPOCS-VC-24-49 Existing -93.640543 29.451815 GLO-UPOCS-VC-24-50 Existing -93.630242 29.507424 GLO-UPOCS-VC-24-51 Existing -94.06423 29.406504 GLO-UPOCS-VC-24-57 Existing -93.965143 29.475649 GLO-UPOCS-VC-24-59 Existing -93.819459 29.427706 GLO-UPOCS-VC-24-60 Existing -93.750302 29.456359 GLO-UPOCS-VC-24-61 Existing -93.714621 29.47148 GLO-UPOCS-VC-24-62 Existing -93.719725 29.477459 GLO-UPOCS-VC-24-63 Existing -93.621124 29.566147 GLO-UPOCS-VC-24-64 Existing -93.667193 29.571369 GLO-UPOCS-VC-24-65 Existing -93.594779 29.594495 GLO-UPOCS-VC-24-66 Existing -93.610278 29.54776 GLO-UPOCS-VC-24-67 Existing -93.54422 29.544106 GLO-UPOCS-VC-24-68 Existing -93.537179 29.547121 GLO-UPOCS-VC-24-69 Existing -93.519014 29.574736 GLO-UPOCS-VC-24-70 Existing -93.432566 29.572973 GLO-UPOCS-VC-24-71 Existing -93.466652 29.484444 GLO-UPOCS-VC-24-72 Existing -93.434461 29.428508 GLO-UPOCS-VC-24-73 Existing -93.409471 29.45926 GLO-UPOCS-VC-24-74 Existing -93.388039 29.45936 VC_087 Proposed -97.061251 26.675344 VC_091 Proposed -97.041578 26.601484 VC_093 Proposed -97.024225 26.577719 VC_095 Proposed -97.015783 26.552546 VC_097 Proposed -97.013227 26.630405 VC_100 Proposed -97.008801 26.578992 VC_104 Proposed -96.979503 26.430396 VC_107 Proposed -96.947373 26.332378 VC_108 Proposed -96.944088 26.282118 VC_109 Proposed -96.936482 26.231678 VC_110 Proposed -96.922284 26.535936 VC_111 Proposed -96.926095 26.146681

VC_112 Proposed -96.912324 26.033419 VC_113 Proposed -96.890291 26.236444 VC_114* Proposed -96.866129 26.439907 VC_115 Proposed -96.858873 26.591519 VC_117 Proposed -96.851815 26.441036 VC_118 Proposed -96.832094 26.644117 VC_119 Proposed -96.837618 26.089684 VC_120 Proposed -96.817671 26.544588 VC_121 Proposed -96.815928 26.494279 VC_122 Proposed -96.800969 26.394856 VC_123 Proposed -96.797629 26.596567 VC_124 Proposed -96.79734 26.445573 VC_125 Proposed -96.800283 26.041831 VC_126 Proposed -96.789684 26.295038 VC_127 Proposed -96.782585 26.54749 VC_128 Proposed -96.778298 26.295976 VC_129 Proposed -96.771185 26.447662 VC_130 Proposed -96.744336 26.406675 VC_131 Proposed -96.720953 26.048918 VC_132 Proposed -96.712334 26.502739 VC_133 Proposed -96.712039 26.229835 VC_134 Proposed -96.699 26.453578 VC_135 Proposed -96.690888 26.40386 VC_136 Proposed -96.689736 26.051466 VC_137 Proposed -96.668724 26.153903 VC_138 Proposed -96.659724 26.305653 VC_139 Proposed -96.630763 26.408705 VC_140 Proposed -96.633414 26.056077 VC_141 Proposed -96.631176 26.023752 VC_142 Proposed -96.615449 26.336908 VC_143 Proposed -96.609765 26.309702 VC_144 Proposed -96.604349 26.260989 VC_145 Proposed -96.588187 26.160491 VC_146 Proposed -96.586608 26.146483 VC_147 Proposed -96.581314 26.110696 VC_037 Proposed -94.919955 28.804207 VC_039 Proposed -94.947892 28.784381 VC_054 Proposed -95.440736 28.607517 VC_057 Proposed -95.543171 28.437063 VC_064 Proposed -95.638128 28.3879 VC_066 Proposed -95.647295 28.402584

VC_058 Proposed -95.553373 28.451264 VC_069 Proposed -95.656363 28.417242 VC_061 Proposed -95.588569 28.451971 VC_063 Proposed -95.609851 28.421248 VC_038 Proposed -94.929376 28.868397 VC_071 Proposed -95.668659 28.46846 VC_065 Proposed -95.640128 28.46382 VC_062 Proposed -95.596818 28.486559 VC_056 Proposed -95.472076 28.494603 VC_046 Proposed -95.285706 28.591448 VC_032 Proposed -95.451977 28.46628 VC_029 Proposed -95.371099 28.469289 VC_002 Proposed -94.225108 29.350638 VC_010 Proposed -94.490711 29.087406 VC_015 Proposed -94.646515 28.979543 VC_018 Proposed -94.724302 28.925526 VC_017 Proposed -94.704661 28.772668 VC_003 Proposed -94.231282 29.300438 VC_006 Proposed -94.305685 29.318986 VC_007 Proposed -94.325237 29.263533 VC_005 Proposed -94.309149 29.17442 VC_008 Proposed -94.380394 29.131294 VC_013 Proposed -94.572606 29.141572 VC_011 Proposed -94.536444 29.166622 VC_016 Proposed -94.661593 28.99489 VC_019 Proposed -94.729016 28.930285 VC_031 Proposed -95.443484 28.454355 VC_034 Proposed -95.630054 28.375001 VC_036 Proposed -95.768162 28.249052 VC_027 Proposed -94.906283 28.798646 VC_033 Proposed -95.53704 28.420908 VC_028 Proposed -95.309725 28.539197 VC_022 Proposed -94.7913 28.712338 VC_012 Proposed -94.568575 29.033589 VC_001 Proposed -94.203444 29.32849 VC_025 Proposed -94.855541 28.667456 VC_026 Proposed -94.865906 28.715895 VC_035 Proposed -95.641047 28.255005