Final_Prepropsal_Conference_Q&As-SEG_Eu.pdf

Questions & Responses:

SEG+ Pre-proposal Conference—January 5, 2018

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Contractor Question 1—Is it the intent of the solicitation to procure 6,000 kgs of Europium Oxide, or to obtain 6,000 kgs of a SEG concentrate that contains greater than 6% Europium Oxide; therefore obtaining greater than 360 kgs of Europium Oxide?

Government Response 1—It is the intent of the Government to procure 6,000 kgs of dry, contained Europium Oxide, based on non-complexed europium oxide.

Contractor Question 2—Are the minimum concentrations listed for the non-Europium rare earth oxides in the Scope of Work – in Attachment D absolute, or a guideline? In other words, if some of the oxides like Yttrium, Terbium and Gadolinium were below these minimum values, would that be a breach of the contract, resulting in non-payment?

Government Response 2—The specifications the Government listed in Attachment D are absolute and they are what the Government will be evaluating each proposal against. Therefore, it is imperative for the Offeror to submit their proposal according to the specifications listed by the Government.

Question 3—Due to the likelihood for variation between lots, can the vendor submit an equation that will represent the price based on composition?

Gov’t Response 3—No. The Government will evaluate the price proposal based on the formula/equation posted in the solicitation; this formula/equation will be used to calculate the value (price) of a concentrate.

Question 4—It is currently illegal to export SEG from China, is Chinese material acceptable for this solicitation?

Gov’t Response 4—The US Government will evaluate each proposal independently and will make its own judgement which material is acceptable.

SEG Eu Preproposal Conference Questions & Answers

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Question 5—Which price is the most important part of the submittal, per pound, per lot or total?

Gov’t Response 5—The Government will evaluate each price proposal based on the total price submitted and will evaluate it based on the equation provided in the solicitation. The Government intends to award a firm fixed price contract.

Question 6—Does DLA want to Change its specification?

Gov’t Response 6—The Government has changed the specification, please review the revised Attachment D.

Question 7—Does DLA want the SEG in an Oxide form as opposed to a Carbonate or Chloride form?

Gov’t Response 7—The Government intends to purchase only SEG oxide concentrate.

Question 8—How would an Offeror submit changes that would allow us to better meet the specification?

Gov’t Response 8—The Government will not accept any alternate proposals. If the Government receives a proposal that does not meet the specifications listed in the SOW, the proposal will be evaluated according to Attachment E-Evaluation Criteria, and the proposal will be determined unacceptable and will be eliminated from the competitive range.

Question 9—Does the third party testing need to be done in an independent warehouse?

Gov’t Response 9—The third party sampling and testing organization(s) shall be approved by the Government in advance. The location of the third party sampling and testing should be determined by the third party sampling and testing organization(s).

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Question 10—Are there any special certificates of qualifications that the independent testing lab needs to have?

Gov’t Response 10—The independent testing labs shall have a recognized facility, experience and reputation on the material or similar material sampling and testing. The contractor shall send the name of the lab(s) to the Government for evaluation in the proposal. More than one labs can be proposed in the proposal. The sampling and testing organization(s) will be subject to approval by the government.

Question 11—Is it acceptable to send samples directly from the production site to the testing lab?

Gov’t Response 11— As sampling is to be performed by an independent or third party entity, the sampling organization will determine how the proper chain of custody of the sample is maintained.

Question 12—Section 4.1.2 of the SOW: Does the SEG + Oxide concentration have to be chemically precipitated for all elemental percentages disclosed in SOW 4.1.2 or may material be physically added/blended to the material to meet the elemental values desired? Understandably, DLA wants material to meet the specification exactly, but if you had to choose the top 5 elements, excluding Europium, that are most important to meet, what would they be?

Gov’t Response 12—The concentrations of the materials stated in Section 4.1.2 of the SOW can be either chemically precipitated or physically blended depending on how the SEG+ concentrate is produced. Which means, either way will be acceptable, as long as the averaged bulk concentrations of the materials meet the requirements of the SOW.

The responsibility to submit an acceptable proposal rests with the Offeror, the Government advices Offerors to ensure their proposals meet the specifications listed in Section 4.1.2 of the SOW.

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Question 13—Section 4.2.2.4 of the SOW: It was inquired where the sampling will take place, and if independent warehousing is required. DLA responded as long as a third-party company is used for the sampling it does not have to be stored in an independent warehouse. Section 4.2.2.4 makes mention of a sample to be taken in the Government Storage Depot. Is this after acceptance of the third-party analysis by DLA? It was stated during the conference call, DLA will not take possession of material until after analysis is confirmed. SOW Attachment 1, bullet 4 states “Sampling shall be performed at a DLA Depot no later than 30 days after delivery is completed or at other designated location before delivery.” It was also asked if the samples could be taken at the manufacturing site, and DLA answered yes, as long as a third-party sampler is used.

Please clarify the sampling method. Is it preferred the material be tested before exporting/importing material?

Gov’t Response 13—The third party sampling location can be determined by the third party sampling organization. The Government does require that the sampling be performed domestically and by a domestic (and reputable) lab/sampler. If the sampling and analysis is to be completed by a third party who is pre-approved by DLA, we will have no need to repeat the sampling and analysis once the material is at the Government Depot.

Question 14—Can DLA revise their specification to current market standard of focusing primarily on the four (4) elements (EU2O3\TB4O7\DY2O3\GD2O3) the industry primarily focuses on?

Gov’t Response 14— No, the Government will not revise the specification to focusing primarily on the four materials of Eu2O3\Tb4O7\Dy2O3\Gd2O3.

Question 15—Will DLA award the total amount to one Contractor or does DLA have the right to split the award? For example, one Contractor may be awarded 3mt and a second Contractor will be awarded the remaining 3MT of Eu Oxide contained SEG Oxide.

Gov’t Response 15—The Government intends to make an award to one (1) contractor.