RFI-_Germanium_Recycling.pdf

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

DLA Strategic Materials

1. Description

1.1 DLA Strategic Materials is seeking information on how industry could reclaim germanium

(Ge) metal at various purity grades.

1.2 THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY. This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes – it does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFP in the future. This RFI does not commit the Government to contract for any supply or service whatsoever. Further, DLA Strategic Materials is not at this time seeking proposals and will not accept unsolicited proposals. Responders are advised that DLA Strategic Materials will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this RFI; all costs associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the interested party’s expense. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future RFP, if any is issued. If a solicitation is released, it will be synopsized on the Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps) website. It is the responsibility of the potential offerors to monitor this site for additional information pertaining to this requirement.

2. Background

2.1 DLA Strategic Materials is the operational agent of the Stockpile Manager, the Under

Secretary of Defense, Acquisition, Technology and Logistics (USD-AT&L) charged with implementation of the provisions of the Strategic and Critical Materials Stock Piling Act (50 U.S.C. Section 98 et seq., hereafter referred to as the “Act”). Section 2 (b) of the Act requires the Stockpile Manager to “provide of the acquisition and to encourage the conservation and development of sources of such materials within the United States and thereby to decrease and to preclude, when possible, a dangerous and costly dependence by the United States upon foreign sources or a single point of failure for supplies of such materials in times of national emergency”.

2.2 Proposed Recycling Volume: 400 – 1000 kilograms (kg) of Ge metal (contained) per Department of Defense fiscal year

2.3 Proposed Delivery Period: 5 – 10+ years, contingent on recycling volume and DLA Strategic

Materials collection rates

2.4 Limitations: none

2.5 Security Requirements: N/A

http://www.fedbizopps.gov/

3. Requested Information

3.1. Material Requirements and Testing

3.1.1 Please provide specifications of the Ge material produced, recycled, acquired or used by your company. Specifications can be commercial or company specific. Proprietary specification information submitted to the Government will be held as Business Confidential and not disclosed outside of DLA Strategic Materials or the chain of command responsible for the operation of the National Defense Stockpile. In addition to the normal specifications, the following information could be included for reclamation:

3.1.1.1 Minimum Ge content within scrap

3.1.1.2 Maximum or minimum dimensions of scrap

3.1.1.3 Coating removal and disposal requirements

3.1.2. In what forms (such as powder, ingot, chunk, pebble) and grades (purity of Ge and impurity of other components) do you normally produce, reclaim, purchase, receive or use?

3.1.3. In what form (e.g., window, lens, and mirror) and grade (i.e., wt. % Ge) do you typically accept for Ge for reclamation?

3.1.4. What tests, including physical, chemical or otherwise, do you typically perform on Ge metal/scrap prior to acceptance? Do you conduct these tests in-house, or do you contract for the performance of these tests? If out-of-house, with whom do you contract for this testing?

3.1.5. In the event the Ge metal/scrap does NOT meet your requirements, what corrective action or contract amendments do you typically seek with commercial suppliers?

3.1.6. How does your company typically require Ge metal/scrap to be labelled and packaged?

3.2. Market Pricing and Cost

3.2.2. How do you establish the commercial value of Ge scrap (e.g., contained metal and spot prices)?

3.2.3. Does the market for Ge scrap exhibit volatility, and if so, how do you mitigate that volatility?

3.2.4. Can you provide informal quotes or past fees for the reclamation of Ge scrap? Please separately indicate fees associated with removing coatings (by type of coating), radiological disposal, demilitarization, packaging, shipping, and any other significant (i.e., ≥10% of total fee) requirements.

3.2.5. Do you typically conduct all of the activities associated with Ge scrap reclamation, or do you contract for the performance of some of these activities? If so, with whom do you typically contract for these activities?

3.3. Industry Capability

3.3.2. What is your U.S. capacity to reclaim Ge metal from Ge-containing scrap? What is your non-U.S. capacity to reclaim Ge metal from Ge-containing scrap?

3.3.3. Approximately what proportion of the Ge scrap accepted by your U.S. / foreign facilities is derived from commercial sources and from U.S. Government sources?

3.3.4. Approximately how much time elapses between the acceptance of Ge scrap to the production of a zone-refined Ge ingot, derived from that scrap, at your U.S. and foreign facilities?

3.4. Contracting Structure

3.4.2. What are the comparative strengths and weaknesses of DLA Strategic Materials providing Ge scrap to your company under (1) a long-term supply contract or a series of

(2) annual contracts, (3) reverse auctions, or (4) forward auctions?

3.4.3. For a long-term supply contract, does your company incorporate economic price adjustments, price-to-volume matrices, spot price benchmarks, or other mechanisms to determine selling prices in a given year?

3.4.4. For a long-term supply contract, does your company incorporate take-or-pay clauses? If not, what penalties are associated with your company’s or your supplier’s breach of a long-term supply contract?

3.5. Others

3.5.2. Does your company follow the criteria in the Globally Harmonized System for Hazard Communication for the material(s) (includes labeling and chemical classification)?

3.5.3. Does the final product of the material that your company produces/reclaims have any hazardous qualities (e.g. is it harmful to human health or the environment)?

3.5.4. If the material does have hazardous qualities, are there special packing requirements that are used in order to ensure the safety of others? Is any Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) required to handle the material?

3.5.5. Please include the Safety Data Sheet (SDS) for Ge metal products that your company recycles, purchases, distributes or uses.

3.5.6. Do you offer prompt payment discounts?

3.5.7. If you were requested to provide certified financial statements as part of a proposal, would you comply?

3.5.8. Do you typically use subcontractors to reclaim this material or provide service?

3.5.9. Will you be able to obtain a letter from a buyer or a downstream user stating that your recycled material has met or exceeded manufacturing requirements in the past?

4. Responses

4.1. Interested parties are requested to respond to this RFI with a white paper.

4.2. White papers in Microsoft Word for Office 2010 compatible format are due no later than February 16, 2017, 16:00 EST. Responses shall be submitted via e-mail only to SMContracting@dla.mil. Proprietary information, if any, MUST BE CLEARLY MARKED. To aid the Government, please segregate proprietary information. Please be advised that all submissions should be limited to 20 pages and become Government property and will not be returned.

4.3 Section 1 of the white paper shall provide administrative information, including the following:

4.3.1 Name, mailing address, overnight delivery address (if different from mailing address), phone number, fax number, and e-mail address of designated point of contact.

4.3.2 Company DUNS number and CAGE Code, if applicable.

4.3.3 A statement whether the respondent is registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) (https://www.sam.gov).

4.3.4 A statement whether the respondent has an active iRAPT account for submitting electronic invoices in the Wide Area Workflow (WAWF) system.

4.3.5 Non-disclosure agreement information, such as:

4.3.5.1 Copies of executed non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) with the contractors supporting DLA Strategic Materials in technical evaluations.

4.3.5.2 A statement that the responders will not allow the Government to release its proprietary data to Government support contractors; or

4.3.5.3 A statement that the responders will allow the Government to release its proprietary data to Government support contractors.

4.3.5.4

4.3.5.5 Business type (large business, small business, small disadvantaged business, 8(a)-certified small disadvantaged business, HUBZone small business, woman-owned small business, very small business, veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business) based upon North American Industry Classification System

(NAICS) 334413.

mailto:SMContracting@dla.mil https://www.sam.gov/

“Small business concern” means a concern, including its affiliates that is independently owned and operated, not dominant in the field of operation in which it is bidding on Government contracts, and qualified as a small business under the criteria and size standards in 13 CFR part 121. A small business concern for the purposes of this procurement is generally defined as a business, including its affiliates, of 1250 employees. Annual receipts of a concern that has been in business for 3 or more complete fiscal years means the annual average gross revenue of the concern taken for the last 3 fiscal years. Annual receipts of a concern that has been in business for less than 3 complete fiscal years means its total receipts for the period it has been in business, divided by the number of weeks including fractions of a week that it has been in business, and multiplied by 52. Respondees are cautioned, however, that this is a general description only. Additional standards and conditions apply. Please refer to Federal Acquisition Regulation FAR 19 for additional detailed information on Small Business Size Standards. The FAR is available at http://farsite.hill.af.mil/vffara.htm.

4.4 Section 2 of the white paper shall answer the issues addressed in Section 3 of this RFI.

5. Industry Discussions

5.1. DLA Strategic Materials representatives may or may not choose to meet with potential offerors. Such discussions would only be intended to get further clarification of potential capability to meet the requirements, especially any development and certification risks.

6. Questions

6.1. Questions regarding this announcement shall be submitted in writing by e-mail to the DLA Strategic Materials Directorate of Contracting , email address above. Verbal questions will NOT be accepted. Questions will be answered by posting answers to Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps) website; accordingly, questions shall NOT contain proprietary or classified information. The Government does not guarantee that questions received after February 16, 2017 16:00 EST will be answered.

7. Summary

7.1. THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION ONLY to identify sources that can provide information regarding Ge metal. The information provided in the RFI is subject to change and is not binding on the Government. DLA Strategic Materials has not made a commitment to procure any of the items discussed, and release of this RFI should not be construed as such a commitment or as authorization to incur cost for which reimbursement would be required or sought. All submissions become Government property and will not be returned.

http://www.arnet.gov/far/current/html/FARTOCP19.html http://farsite.hill.af.mil/vffara.htm http://www.fedbizopps.gov/ http://www.fedbizopps.gov/