A14_Sources_Sought_Notice_1.pdf

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Central Energy Resources Science Center (CERSC), has a requirement for mineralogical analysis.

THIS IS A SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE ONLY FOR MARKET RESEARCH PURPOSES.

THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP), REQUEST FOR QUOTATIONS(RFQ) OR

INVITATION FOR BID (IFB).

NO FORMAL SOLICITATION IS BEING REQUESTED UNDER THIS NOTICE.

This Sources Sought Notice is for market research purposes to identify small businesses having an interest in and resources to support this requirement for the analysis of macroinvertebrate samples, located at the Denver Federal Center, Denver, Colorado.

The result of this market research will contribute to determining the method of procurement. The Government will review the information requested in this announcement based on the responses to this sources sought notice/market research, this requirement may be set-aside for small businesses or procured through full and open competition.

The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code is 541380 – Testing Laboratories and Services . The size standard is $19.0 Million.

The following is a brief description of services that are required to be performed but not limited to:

The Vendor shall perform mineralogical analysis on rock samples. A total of 150 samples shall be submitted for CEC analysis and whole rock XRD mineralogical analysis using full pattern fitting techniques. A subset of 30 samples shall also be analyzed with detailed analyses to determine specific clay types present in the clay size fraction. The vendor shall prepare the USGS submitted samples for analysis using established methods that are appropriate to the analyses.

I. Technical Requirements:

a. Task 1: For all 150 samples, the contractor shall conduct quantitative CEC and XRD analyses.

i. Vendor shall prepare the samples appropriately for optimal CEC and XRD measurements, including micronizing to appropriate particle size.

ii. CEC analysis shall be performed using the Co(III)-examine cation exchange and a spectrophotometric technique closely aligned with that of Bardon et al. (1993), on samples that are preheated to remove the clay bound water.

iii. CEC values shall be reported in milliequivalents per 100 grams (meq/100g) with a precision of +/- 0.1 meq/100g.

iv. XRD analysis shall be conducted to quantify the amount of each identified mineral using a full pattern fitting method.

v. Vendor shall share raw files or xy data (2 theta vs intensity or counts) generated by the vendor’s preferred instrument and analysis approach.

vi. Reported results and raw files shall include minimally abundance results and raw files in an Excel spreadsheet. The spreadsheet shall specifically include the following:

1. An Excel workbook with the mineral identifications and quantifications with each sample identified using the USGS sample identification provided on the sample label.

2. Raw or xy files shall be identified in the file title using the unique USGS sample identification provided on the sample label.

i.Turnaround time for completion of analyses shall be no more than 8 weeks.

ii.If requested, any remaining sample material shall be returned to the USGS at the USGS expense

b. Task 2: For a subset of 30 samples, the contractor shall additionally conduct specialized analyses to identify clay types within the clay size fraction.

i.Vendor shall prepare the samples using methods described by Jackson (1985), and separation of the clay size fraction (<2 micron) ii.Vendor shall perform advanced analysis identifying and determining quantitatively the amount of each identified clay mineral and interstratification percentages though advanced analysis such as the approaches outlined by Moore and Reynolds (1997) and Drits and Sakharov (1976).

iii.Reported results and raw files shall include minimally abundance results in an Excel spreadsheet with the mineral identifications and quantifications with each sample identified using the USGS sample identification provided on the sample label.

iv.Turnaround time for completion of analyses shall be no more than 8 weeks.

v.If requested, any remaining sample material shall be returned to the USGS at the USGS expense.

c. Criteria for acceptance of service:

i.Quality control samples (i.e., standards or duplicates) shall be submitted to the contract laboratory with the sample shipment. If the vendor results do not meet USGS acceptance criteria, then the entire batch of samples are to be reanalyzed at no additional cost to the USGS. Reanalysis is to occur within 6 weeks from the notification to the vendor that the results do not meet the USGS acceptance criteria.

USGS acceptance criteria are that for mineral abundances greater than 10%, the error of the vendor result relative to the standard or duplicate must be less than +/- 5%, and for mineral abundances less than 10%, the error of the vendor result relative to the standard or duplicate must be less than +/- 30%.

ii.Refinements shall be cross checked by USGS staff.

II. Deliverables: The vendor shall deliver the results outlined in III.a. & III.b. to the USGS geoscientists via email. The vendor shall keep all results confidential.

THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION. ALL COST ASSOCIATED WITH PROVIDING INFORMATION AS

REQUESTED BY THIS SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE SHALL BE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE

CONTRACTOR. SUBMISSION IS VOLUNTARY.

This is NOT a Request for Proposal (RFP), Request for Quotation (RFQ) or Invitation for Bid (IFB) and does not constitute any commitment by the Government. Responses to this source sought notice will be used by the Government to make appropriate acquisition decisions. All interested sources must respond to future solicitation announcements separately from responses to this market survey. Any solicitation that may be issued will be posted on the Federal Business Opportunities website and no paper copies will be provided.

Responses to this announcement are requested from (1) SBA certified Small Business HUBZone firms; (2) Small Business firms certified by a Small Business Administration (SBA) district or regional office for participation in the 8(a) program; (3) Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned small Business firms; (4) Small Businesses.

In response to this announcement, please indicate your firm's socioeconomic status (e.g. small business, service-disabled veteran-owned, women owned, HUBZone, etc.) This information will assist the Government in determining how small businesses can fit into the acquisition strategy.

A firm is considered small under NAICS code 238220 – Plumbing, Heating, and Air Conditioning Contractors.

Any information submitted is voluntary. If sufficient interest and capability is not received from firms in categories (1) through (4) above, any solicitation may be issued as unrestricted without further consideration.

Interested small business firms shall submit (1) NAME, ADDRESS, and PHONE NUMBER OF THE FIRM, and UEI NUMBER.

Your company must have an active UEI number and be registered on-line at the System for Award Management (SAM). You will also be required to provide your small business status information either via the RFQ or the On-line Representations and Certifications also located at the SAM website before an award to your company can be made. Your on-line registration will cover any/all of your offers to the Federal Government and only needs updated annually.

All responses must be submitted NLT September 15, 2026, at 12:00pm MT via e-mail to:

jennifer_rollin@ios.doi.gov. All submissions must have 140G0226Q0176– Mineralogical Analysis in the subject line.

mailto:jennifer_rollin@ios.doi.gov