ATT 2_SOW_Acid Grade Fluorspar.docx

Statement of Work Acid Grade Fluorspar

BACKGROUND

The Department of Defense (DoD) utilized acid grade fluorspar (acidspar) extensively for use in semiconductor processing and metallurgical processing. This material is primarily used in the production of hydrofluoric acid. The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Strategic Materials received Congressional authority to procure fluorspar. Based on material research, the Government determined to procure acidspar for addition to the National Defense Stockpile (NDS).

SCOPE

DLA Strategic Materials received authority to procure acidspar in the fiscal year (FY) 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). To reduce the risk of import reliance in the acidspar supply chain, DLA Strategic Materials intends to purchase acidspar with estimated values shown in Table 1 over a five-year ordering period.

Table 1: Estimated planned procurement quantities and schedule for acidspar

* Disclaimer: Table 1 provides an estimate of quantities. The Government is not obligated to procure the total estimated quantity.

REFERENCE

The following are incorporated by reference:

a) Harmonized Tariff Schedule, the Tariff Act of 1930, and the Trade Act of 1974

b) United States (US) Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Form 7501

c) US CBP Form 6059, General Declaration

d) US CBP Form 5106 (Request for Importer Number, or Notification of Importer Number)

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS

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4.1. MATERIAL DESCRIPTION

4.1.1. The material shall be acidspar with calcium fluoride - CaF2 - content greater than or equal to 97% by mass and shall be in compliance with the chemical requirements below in Table 1.

Table 1. Chemical specifications for acid grade fluorspar, percent by mass.

4.1.2. Testing, with proper significant limits, shall be performed, and the testing methods used shall be indicated for each impurity.

4.1.3. Material shall be a powder with greater than 99.5% of material being able to pass through a +40 mesh, 95 +% able to pass through a 100 mesh, 75 +% able to pass through a 200 mesh, and 60 +% able to pass through a 325 mesh.

4.1.4. The Contractor shall ensure the material from each production lot is segregated from the material from any other production lot. Co-mingling of multiple production lots into one larger lot will not be accepted. The Contractor shall assign a unique lot number to each production lot.

SAMPLING

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5.1 The Government will witness the Contractor’s sampling operations for each lot of material the Contractor intends to deliver to the Government for compliance with the Sampling Plan.

5.2 The Government reserves the right to waive witnessing of the sampling process on a case-by-case basis.

5.3 The Contractor shall permit the Government access to activities associated with sample collection and distribution at the time the Contractor is manufacturing each lot of material the Contractor intends to provide to the Government. The Contractor’s material production facilities must be within the Continental United States (CONUS) for all material the Contractor intends to supply the Government.

5.4 The Contractor shall provide the Government with written notice of the date(s) the Contractor intends to begin processing, sampling, and testing activities of lots of material it intends to provide to the Government, a minimum of 20 (twenty) business days prior to that date.

5.5 The Contractor shall provide the Government with a written summary (via email and in Adobe Acrobat PDF format) of its sampling plan and activities. The summary shall clearly describe the sampling process and cite any relevant sampling standards, as applicable.

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5.1.1. The Contractor shall submit this summary to the Government no later than thirty (30) business days prior to sampling of the material the Contractor intends to provide to the Government.

5.1.2. The Contractor shall not make any changes to their Sampling Plan without the explicit written approval of the Quality Assurance Specialist (QAS). If the Contractor wishes to make changes to the approved Sampling Plan, the Contractor shall submit a complete and revised proposed Sampling Plan for approval to the QAS. The QAS will advise the Contractor whether the revised proposed Sampling Plan is acceptable within seven (7) calendar days of receipt of the revised Sampling Plan. All sampling will be in accordance with the approved Sampling Plan.

5.1.3. If subsequent Contractor sampling plans and processes remain unchanged from previous sampling plans, the Contractor shall submit an email to the Government, stating that there have been no changes to its sampling plan and processes ten (10) business days prior to the date the Contractor begins its sampling activities.

5.6 The Contractor’s Sampling Plan shall include, at a minimum, the following:

a) Specify sample size and quantity

b) Provide a detailed description of the sampling process (i.e., individual sampling collection process, preparation of aggregate sample, sample splitting, additional sample preparation, estimated time for completing each lot’s sampling process, etc.)

c) Cite the national or international sampling standards applied to the sampling processes and/or description of industry-accepted sampling processes

d) Explain how each lot’s sample set will be equivalent in size and properties and be representative of a lot of material in properties.

e) Confirm the Contractor will provide written notice of the date(s) the Contractor intends to begin sampling operations of material it intends to deliver to the Government, a minimum of thirty (30) business days prior to that date.

5.7 The Contractor shall collect samples for each lot of material it intends to provide to the Government. The Contractor’s sampling process and procedures shall be consistent with the sampling process and procedures the Contractor typically uses for this material for other customers.

5.8 The Contractor shall collect four equivalent samples for each lot of material the contractor intends to supply to the Government – one set of samples for the Contractor’s purposes, one set of samples for the Government, one set of samples for independent third-party laboratory analysis, and one sample for the reserve material of the independent third-party laboratory reserve, All four samples shall be of the same size and form and shall be representative in chemical properties of the lot of material. All four samples shall have a minimum sample size that satisfies the requirements of the independent third-party laboratory.

5.9 The Contractor shall ship the Government’s sample for each lot with each lot of material it delivers to the Government.

5.10 The Contractor shall document and transfer chain of custody of the lot’s analytical and reserve samples to the independent third-party laboratory.

TESTING

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6.1 The Contractor shall employ an independent third-party analytical chemistry laboratory (lab) to chemically characterize each lot of acid grade fluorspar (acidspar) the Contractor intends to deliver to the Government. The lab shall analyze each lot in accordance with industry standards.

6.2 The contractor shall report this information to the government in a Certificate of Analysis (COA). The contractor shall deliver a COA for each representative sample from each lot for which chemical analyses were performed.

6.3 The third-party lab used to perform verification testing shall:

a) Have CONUS -- based operations.

b) Perform all analytical chemistry activities in this SOW within CONUS.

c) Have an established reputation for experience and excellence in laboratory analytical services.

d) Be certified in ISO 17025 through A2LA with the following specific certifications, at a minimum: sample preparation for mineral ore, limestone, ferro-alloys (falling within the A2LA P112 Flexible Scope Policy); Inductively Coupled Plasma (“ICP”) for Al, Ag, As, B, Ba, Bi, Ca, Cd, Ce, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, La, Li, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Nb, Ni, P, Pb, Sb, Se, Si, Sn, Sr, Ta, Ti, V, W, Zn (falling within the A2LA P112 Flexible Scope Policy); combustion analysis for C, N, O, S (falling within the A2LA P112 Flexible Scope Policy); Wavelength-Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence (“WDXRF”) analysis for Al, Ca, Cr, Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, Mo, Na, Nb, Ni, P, S, Si, Ti, V (falling within the A2LA P112 Flexible Scope Policy); gravimetric precipitation analysis for CaF2, Mo, Nb, S, SiO2; volumetric analysis for B, Ca, Cr, Fe, Metallic Fe, Mg, Mn, Ni, Ti, V; gas evolution for CO2 and; miscellaneous gravimetric analysis for sieve testing, Loss on Ignition (“LOI”), moisture at 105°C.

e) Have expert ability and experience in analytical chemistry techniques and methods, and method development in wet chemistry (i.e., sample preparation and digestion, titration, reagent preparation, glovebox work, etc.), and instrumentational analysis.

f) Have expert ability and experience in clean pulverization capabilities; laboratory sample preparation and digestion; titration; and reagent preparation.

g) Have expert ability and experience in instrumental analysis, including Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy/Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES/AES), ICP-Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS), and inert gas fusion and combustion analysis, especially using LECO™ or similar instruments.

6.4 The Contractor shall submit a testing plan with their proposal. The testing plan shall include, at a minimum:

a) Name and address of third-party laboratory that the contractor intends to use

b) A summary description of sample preparation techniques

c) A summary description of methodology and instrumentation (as applicable) the lab will employ for each required data value in this SOW’s material specifications

d) Any significant assumptions the lab might elect to make that are beyond the accepted assumptions made for chemical analysis (instruments and wet chemistry)

e) An acknowledgement of the safety portion of the SDS for the specific material being tested

6.5 The Contractor shall not make any changes to the independent third-party Analytical Chemistry Laboratory’s testing plan (i.e., the proposed analytical methodologies the independent laboratory will employ that will be submitted and approved as part of the Contractor’s proposal) without the explicit written approval of the QAS.

6.6 If the Contractor wishes to make changes to the approved Testing Plan, the Contractor shall submit a complete and revised proposed Testing Plan for approval to the QAS. The QAS will advise the Contractor whether the revised proposed Testing Plan is acceptable within seven (7) calendar days of receipt of the revised Testing Plan. All testing will be in accordance with the approved Testing Plan.

6.7 The contractor cannot make any changes to the independent third-party analytical chemistry laboratory’s testing plan (i.e., the proposed analytical methodologies the independent laboratory will employ that will be submitted as part of the contractor’s proposal) without the explicit written approval of the QAS and/or government program manager.

CERTIFICATES OF ANALYSIS (COA)

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7.1 The Contractor shall provide a COA with each production lot.

7.2 The contractor shall affix a cover letter with their letterhead to each COA the Contractor submits to the Government. The Contractor’s letterhead shall include all information the Contractor is required to report and that information is not generated by a separate entity. For example, the third-party shall generate an analytical report on a lot of material; the contractor shall not alter that report in any manner but will affix a cover letter to that analytical report from the third-party lab.

7.3 The COA is a legal document, which ensures that the materials delivered by the contractor meet the specifications stated in this SOW. The Government will determine based on the COA if the lot(s) of the materials are acceptable for delivery. The Contractor shall carefully sample and test the material to ensure the reliability of each submitted COA.

7.4 The COAs shall be provided by email in the Adobe Acrobat PDF (portable document format) format to the Government for review and acceptance prior to shipping any lot(s) to the point of delivery. The email address for submitting the COAs will be designated in the Contract.

7.5 The COA shall have a statement certifying that the material meets and or exceeds required material specifications.

7.6 The Government POC will review every COA submitted to determine acceptability and compliance with the requirements in this SOW within ten (10) business days after receipt of the COA.

7.7 Each COA shall include the following, at a minimum:

a) Lot number

b) Weight and number of containers the COA covers

c) List of tests performed and/or the methodology applied. The Contractor shall include any significant assumptions made, other than typical assumptions for test methodology, as a footnote to the reported value.

d) Numerical results and qualitative results (as applicable)

e) Error ranges/limits for results

f) Specifications/requirements

g) Name of the company or name of the laboratory performing the testing

h) Date(s) each analysis is performed, and

i) Printed name and signature of analyst.

7.8 The COA and all other documents submitted to the Government shall be in English.

ENVIRONMENTAL, SAFETY, OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH REQUIREMENTS, AND TRANSPORTATION

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8.1 Transporting, Handling, and Management

8.1.1 The Contractor shall ensure compliance with all federal, state, and local regulations (international laws, as applicable) for the use, transport, emergency response, and disposal of the acquired material.

8.1.2 The Contractor shall ensure compliance with the Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations by certifying hazardous materials are properly classified, described, packaged, marked, and labeled and are in a condition safe to transport the material. (49 CFR 173)

8.1.3 The Contractor shall ensure compliance with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations regarding the proper management, handling, storage, transportation, and disposition of material. (29 CFR 1910)

8.1.4 The Contractor shall communicate the hazards of the material by providing the Safety Data Sheet (SDS) in accordance with The United Nations Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS). (29 CFR 1910)

8.1.5 The Contractor shall ensure compliance with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations for the characterizing waste to determine appropriate disposal of material and any associated packing and shipping material. (40 CFR 260)

8.1.6 The Contractor shall ensure compliance with Strategic Materials’ Environmental, Safety, and Occupational Health (ESOH) Depot Orientation Guide and ESOH Policy Statement available on Strategic Materials website: https://www.dla.mil/Strategic-Materials/ .

PACKAGING

Packaging of the acidspar shall be in accordance with the below requirements.

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9.1 PACKAGING REQUIREMENTS

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9.1.1 All materials shall be put into water-proof supersacks capable of a minimum of twenty (20) year shelf life. Each supersack shall have a base of 48 inches wide (side to side) and 48 inches deep (front to back). Each supersack shall hold approximately one (1) metric ton of material, with reasonable variability allowed per agreement by the government and the contractor.

9.1.2 The contractor shall utilize a State of Utah Weights and Measurements certified scale to measure and report the weight of each supersack at the Contractor’s expense. The Government reserves the right to witness the weighing process.

9.2 PALLETIZING REQUIREMENTS

9.2.1 All container/items shall be placed onto new undamaged pallets meeting the specifications listed below and be banded together to prevent container/item movement during handling, transportation or other operations where containers/items and/or personnel could be damaged and/or injured if the container/item shifts. The use of used, recycled, repaired, remanufactured and/or refurbished pallets will not be accepted.

9.2.2 Pallet Design

a) All pallets shall be 48 inches deep (front to back) and 48 inches wide (side to side) in size.

b) All pallets shall contain four (4) full length, solid stringers. One stringer shall be located at each edge (side) and two stringers shall located in the interior of all pallets. Interior stringers shall be spaced 18 1/2 inches (on center) from the outside of each edge (side). Stringers shall be 1 5/8 inches in width and 3 ½ inches in height. Segmented, composite and/or block stringers will not be acceptable.

c) All pallets shall have flush sides (e.g. no wings).

d) All pallets shall contain “top decking” and “bottom decking” boards. All decking boards shall be six (6) inches in width with no more than one (1) inch between boards. All decking boards shall be ¾ inches in thickness and be solid.

e) All pallets shall be of a “two-way entry” configuration.

f) Pallets may be reversible in design.

g) All pallets shall have a minimum rated load capacity of 750 pounds per square foot.

9.2.3 Pallet Construction

a) All pallets shall satisfy the requirements listed in ASTM D6199-18a.

b) All pallets shall be constructed entirely (except fasteners) of high-density hardwood meeting the requirements of paragraph 6 of ASTM D6199-18a. Only high-density hardwood species categorized in “Group IV” of ASTM D6199-18a shall be acceptable for pallet construction. The only acceptable high density hardwood species used for pallet construction are: Beech, Birch, Hackberry, Hard Maple, Hickory, Oak (Eastern), Pecan, Rock Elm, American Elm, White Oak and Green Oak. Pallets may be constructed by mixing together or using different high density hardwood species listed above interchangeability.

c) All pallets shall satisfy the requirements listed in ISPM-15 (International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures Number 15) (e.g. heat treated etc.).

d) Only driven nails that are “helically” threaded, “Annularly” threaded or “fluted” will be acceptable for use in pallet construction. The fastener length shall be sufficient to provide a minimum penetration of 1 ¼ inches into the stringer.

9.3 A copy of the Safety Data Sheet (SDS) for the contained material shall be accessible and external to the packed material with each delivery. All packages shall meet all requirements presented in Section 6 to ensure compliance with Federal, state, and local regulations for the transporting, handling, and management of material.

LABELING

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10.1 Each individual supersack shall be permanently marked on opposite sides with a unique serial number that is traceable to that individual package. The use of paint/ink to mark/label containers is acceptable.

10.2 The unique serial number permanently marked on each individual container shall correlate to an individual COA.

10.3 The font size of markings permanently marked on each container shall be sufficient in size to be legible to the unaided eye.

10.4 All markings shall be permanent in nature to the extent that they remain completely legible to the unaided eye for a minimum of twenty years.

10.5 All markings shall be in English.

10.6 The information in items (a) through (k) below shall be included with the container. The marking shall not include a security classification or anything indicating DLA Strategic Materials ownership other than the contract number.

a) Commodity Name

b) Commodity Grade, Type or Form

c) Merge Number

d) Country of Origin

e) Producer Name

f) Producer’s part number

g) Gross Weight in pounds and metric units. (Metric units to be in parentheses.)

h) Net Weight in pounds and metric units. (Metric units to be in parentheses.)

i) Lot Number

j) Container Serial Number. (The serial number is the individual container number in relation to the total number of containers in the lot; e.g. container 25 of 100 containers in the lot.)

k) Government Contract Number

10.7 All packages shall meet all requirements presented in Section 8 to ensure compliance with Federal, state, and local regulations for the transporting, handling, and management of material.

TRANSPORTATION

The Contractor shall be responsible for transport, as well as for Carrier and Insurance Paid to (CIP) of the material to the point of delivery as dictated in Section 12.

DELIVERY

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12.1 The Contractor shall deliver materials to the delivery point:

Defense Logistics Agency Hawthorne Army Depot 1 South Main Ave.

Hawthorne, NV 89415-9404 Telephone: (775) 945-7001

12.2 Shipping hours are 0800 to 1430 Pacific Standard Time (PST) Monday through Thursday. (Exceptions of Federal, State and local holidays and days of closure due to inclement weather and/or other emergencies.) Accessibility for truck/rail scale is available (truck scale wight capacity is 90,000 lbs. and the rail scale capacity is 500,000 lbs.).

12.3 The Contractor shall be free to schedule each delivery with the QAS only after the COA is accepted.

12.4 The Contractor shall schedule in writing with the QAS all deliveries a minimum of twenty-one (21) calendar days in advance of their delivery prior to shipping. The QAS will provide written acceptance of the proposed delivery schedule within fourteen (14) calendar days.

12.5 Delivery Orders issued against this IDIQ contract shall have a delivery period not to exceed 36 months.

12.6 Truck lot receiving procedures: Transportation companies are required to use the Carrier Appointment System (CAS) SDDC for deliveries to Hawthorne Army Depot. Transportation companies must schedule an appointment 24 hours in advance by contacting using the CAS or by calling (775) 945-7950 or (775) 945-7949.

12.7 Hawthorne Army Depot will review passports, naturalization papers and citizenship for admittance and reserves the right to reject non-compliant transportation.

12.8 Any deliveries must be pre-approved prior to arriving in Hawthorne.

INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE

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13.1 DLA personnel will perform in-depth visual inspections of material upon transferring to DLA custody at the final delivery point to verify conformance with the requirements stated in the SOW that can be verified visually.

13.2 The Government reserves the right to sample and test each lot of material received to verify the material meets the material specifications set forth in the SOW.

13.3 The QAS will provide written notification of the acceptance/rejection of each delivered lot of material to the Contractor within twenty (20) calendar days of delivery. The Contractor shall not submit an invoice until the QAS has issued a written notification of acceptance of each lot of material delivered.

13.4 If any delivered lot of material or other deliverable does not conform to the requirements stated in the SOW the Government reserves the right to reject the non-conforming material.

13.5 Material rejected based on non-compliance is to be replaced at no cost to the Government. The Contractor shall be responsible for removal and replacement of rejected lots of material, including all attendant costs, within ninety (90) calendar days of the final delivery. The Government reserves the right to ask for compensation for lost time.

ACRONYMS: