SOW_Updated_Niobium Metal_082025.pdf

Statement of Work

Niobium Metal Ingot

1. BACKGROUND

The Department of Defense (DoD), has bought, and will continue to buy, parts that contain Niobium. Niobium is commonly used in many forms, of which this statement of work will focus on Niobium Metal Ingot. Niobium metal ingot has numerous applications in metallurgy as well as the production of more advanced alloys, such as C103.

DLA Strategic Materials received Congressional authority to procure niobium metal ingot.

Through research on niobium, the Government determined to procure niobium metal ingot for the National Defense Stockpile (NDS).

2. SCOPE

To reduce the risk of availability in the niobium supply chain, DLA Strategic Materials intends to purchase niobium metal ingot with estimated values shown in Table 1 over the course of a five-year ordering period. DLA Strategic Materials received authority to procure niobium in the FY2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

Table 1: Estimated planned procurement quantities and schedule for niobium metal

Year Niobium Metal Ingot (lbs)

CLIN 1 (Year 1) 62,000.00

CLIN 2 (Year 2) 91,074.68

CLIN 3 (Year 3) 82,946.25

CLIN 4(Year 4) 75,540.11

CLIN 5 (Year 5) 68,799.44

TOTAL 380,360.48

*Total quantity +/- 1.0%

* Disclaimer: Table 1 provides an estimate of delivery orders and quantities. The government is not obligated to issue the estimated delivery orders.

3. 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)

4. TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS

The following sections define the requirements for the material the Contractor shall provide.

4.1. MATERIAL DESCRIPTION

4.1.1 Niobium Metal Ingot

4.1.1.1 The material shall be Niobium Metal Ingot in accordance with ASTM B391, Type R04200 (Type 1 Reactor Grade Unalloyed Niobium). The ingot shall have a length of 1200 mm ± 5% with a diameter of 200 mm ± 5%.

4.1.1.2 Table 2. Elemental analysis of niobium metal ingots.

Element Impurities Maximum percent by Mass

C 0.01

N 0.01

O 0.015

H 0.0015

Zr 0.02

Ta 0.1

Fe 0.005

Si 0.005

W 0.03

Ni 0.005

Mo 0.010

Hf 0.02

Ti 0.02

B 2 (ppm)

Al 0.002

Be 0.005

Cr 0.002

Co 0.002

Nb remainder

4.1.1.3 All niobium ingots the contractor delivers to the government shall conform to the elemental requirements in Table 2. The contractor’s methods, materials, processes, policies, and practices shall also conform to all requirements of ASTM B391-18 Type 1 R04200 unless otherwise required in this SOW (Statement of Work).

4.1.1.4 All niobium metal ingots must be manufactured and packaged within the Continental United States (CONUS).

4.1.1.5 The Contractor shall ensure no Government material or samples of Government material leave CONUS.

4.1.1.6 The Contractor shall ensure the material from each production lot is segregated from the material from any other production lot. The contractor shall define each ingot as one 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.

5. SAMPLING NIOBIUM METAL INGOTS

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 Contractor’s sampling operations must take place within CONUS.

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

5.4. 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 production facilities must be within the Continental United States (CONUS) for all lots of material the Contractor intends to supply the Government.

5.5. 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.

5.6. The contractor shall submit a Sampling Plan with their proposal. All sampling will be in accordance with the approved Sampling Plan. The Contractor's Sampling Plan shall clearly describe their sampling process and how it produces a sample that is representative of the lot. The Sampling Plan shall cite any relevant sampling standards used for sampling, as applicable. The sampling plan shall provide supporting documentation showing that the sampling practice produces a sample that is representative of the lot (e.g. cite a standard, cite an industry practice, cite data demonstrating the sample is representative, etc.)

5.6.1 The Contractor shall provide the Government with a written summary (via email and in PDF format) of its sampling plan and activities no later than thirty (30) business days prior to sampling of the ingots of material the Contractor intends to provide to the Government.

5.6.2 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.

5.6.3 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.

5.7. The Contractor shall collect three 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, and one set of samples for third-party laboratory analysis. All three samples shall be of the same size and form and shall be representative of the chemical properties of the lot of material. All three samples shall have a minimum sample size that satisfies the requirements of the independent third-party laboratory for sample size.

5.8. The Contractor’s ingot sampling process and procedures shall be consistent with the sampling process and procedures the Contractor typically uses for this material for other customers, unless otherwise specified.

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 sample to the independent third-party laboratory.

6. TESTING NIOBIUM METAL INGOTS

6.1. The Contractor shall employ an independent third-party analytical chemistry laboratory

(lab) to characterize, chemically, each lot of niobium ingot the Contractor intends to deliver to the Government. The lab shall analyze each lot in accordance with Table 2.

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 (Continental United States) -- 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 105oC.

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 Quality Assurance Specialist (QAS).

6.6. All testing will be in accordance with the approved Testing Plan. If the contractor wishes to make changes to the approved Testing Plan, the contractor shall submit a complete and revised proposed Testing Plan to the QAS and the contractor will follow the procedures below:

6.6.1 More than 30 calendar days prior to the change: Submit the revised Testing Plan to the government. Re-approval is not required; however, the government reserves the right to reject the revised Testing Plan and require a resubmission with any issues identified being addressed by the contractor.

6.6.2 30 calendar days or less prior to the change The contractor shall not make any changes to their Testing Plan without written approval (e-mail is sufficient) from the Quality Assurance Specialist (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.

7. CERTIFICATES OF ANALYSIS (COA)

7.1. The Contractor shall provide a COA with each production lot. Production lots are defined in section 4.1.1.6 of this SOW.

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 material 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. The Contractor shall submit a sample COA with their proposal.

7.8. 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.

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

8. ENVIRONMENTAL, SAFETY, AND OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH

REQUIREMENTS

8.1. Transporting, Handling, and Management

8.1.1 The Government 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/ .

9. PACKAGING

9.1. Ingot Material

9.1.1 Ingots shall be secured by steel banding to a pallet not to exceed a gross weight of 6000lbs per pallet. No more than eleven ingots per pallet, six ingots on bottom layer and 5 ingots on second layer shall be exceeded.

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).

https://www.dla.mil/Strategic-Materials/

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 Safety Data Sheet (SDS), specific for each grade of the contained material, shall be accessible and external to the packed material with each delivery. 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.

10. LABELING

10.1. All individual ingot pallets shall be identified with attached tags(s)/label(s) as follows:

a) The font size utilized to enter the required information on each tag/label shall be of sufficient size to be legible to the unaided eye.

b) All information on tag(s)/label(s) shall be in English.

c) Any ink used to print tag(s)/label(s) shall be indelible, permanent and suitable for use in unheated warehouses where temperature extremes (both hot and cold) exist. The use of paint on tags/labels to enter the required information on each tag/label is not acceptable.

d) The tag/label material shall be durable and suitable for use in unheated warehouses where temperature extremes (both hot and cold) exist. The tag/label material shall not react with the commodity being tagged/labeled.

e) Tag/label material shall have an expected lifespan of a minimum of twenty years with no degradation.

f) All tag(s)/label(s) shall be of sufficient size to permit the listing of all required information.

10.2. The information in items a through l below shall be listed on each tag/label or included with the ingot. 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) Ingot Serial Number. (The serial number is the individual ingot number in relation to the total number of ingots in the lot; e.g. ingot 25 of 100 ingots in the lot.) Each ingot will be stamped on opposite ends with that ingots serial number corresponding to that ingots particular lot.

k) Government Contract Number

10.3. Tag(s)/Label(s) shall be attached to each lot of material in a permanent manner that prevents accidental detachment. The means of attachment shall be suitable for use in unheated warehouses where temperature extremes (both hot and cold) exist.

10.4. 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.

11. 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: the Government Storage Depot in Scotia, NY.

12. DELIVERY

12.1. The Contractor shall deliver materials to the Government Storage Depot (delivery point) at the following address:

Defense Logistics Agency Strategic Materials Scotia Depot

Route 5, Building #12 Scotia, NY 12302-9463

United States of America Telephone: (518) 370-3347

Unloading Hours: 7:30 AM – 2:30 PM (EST), Monday – Friday Accessibility: Truck

12.2. The Contractor shall schedule all deliveries a minimum of ten (10) business days in advance of their delivery with the QAS. Deliveries will only be accepted between the hours of 7:30 AM – 2:30 PM (EST), Monday – Friday (excluding federal holidays).

12.3. The contractor must plan delivery of material so that no more than two trucks arrive per day.

13. INSPECTION & ACCEPTANCE

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 days (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:

CFR Code of Federal Regulations CIP Carrier and Insurance Paid to COA Certificate of Analysis DLA Defense Logistics Agency DOD Department of Defense DOT Department of Transportation EPA Environmental Protection Agency ESOH Environmental, Safety, and Occupational Health

FY Fiscal Year GHS United Nations Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of

Chemicals ISPM International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures Lbs Pounds NDAA National Defense Authorization Act NSS National Security Space OSHA Occupational Safety and Health Administration POC Point of Contact SDS Safety Data Sheet SOW Statement of Work

14. SERVICE CONTRACTORS REPORT (SCR) FAR 52.204-14

SCR Requirement are not applicable to this requirement.

15. COMMON ACCESS CARD (CAC) PROCEDURES

CAC Procedures are not applicable to this requirement.