RFI-2-SEG_Concentrate_Separation_12202018.pdf

Request for Information (RFI) Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Strategic Materials

1.0 Description

1.1 The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Strategic Materials is seeking information on the separation of Individual Rare Earth Oxides (IREO) from a limited volume supply of mixed Rare Earth (RE) chemical concentrate, the principal constituents of which are Samarium, Europium, and Gadolinium (i.e., a SEG concentrate).

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 request for information 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. 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 (FedBizOps) website. It is the responsibility of the potential offerors to monitor this site for additional information pertaining to this requirement.

1.3 Please respond with a white paper as detailed in Section 5.0 Responses below. Your response will help the Government craft a requirement that is consistent with your market while at the same time meeting the Government’s needs.

2.0 Background

DLA Strategic Materials is the operational agent of the National Defense Stockpile (NDS) Manager, the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment (USD-A&S), who is 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 NDS Manager to “…provide for the acquisition and retention of stocks of certain strategic and critical materials…, 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”.

In addition, the Act “provide(s) for the upgrading, refining, or processing of any material in the stockpile …when necessary to convert such material into a form more suitable for storage, subsequent disposition, and immediate use in a national emergency”.

2.1 SEG concentrate Rare Earth Oxide Character

The Government Provided Material is a chemical concentrate of mixed rare earth oxides with contained individual rare earths totaling 98.7 percent with Loss on Ignition (LOI) <5%.

This “SEG” concentrate can be made available for separation into individual rare earth oxides. The concentrate also contains some heavy rare earths of interest. For discussion purposes all rare earths are referred to in the oxide equivalent form unless indicated otherwise.

Table 1. SEG concentrate material Rare Earth Distribution Character

2.2 Separation Phases.

The current proposed scope of this program involves the Government providing SEG+ Concentrates to Contractors in two STEPS or phases: Low-Rate Initial Separation and Full- Rate Separation.

2.2.1 For the Low-Rate Initial Separation phase

The volume of SEG+ Concentrates to be separated under this phase is limited to 500 kilograms per Contractor. The Contractor would separate the concentrate into elements, as described later in this document, and deliver this separated material back to the Government. The Government reserves the right to make multiple awards for this phase.

2.2.2 For the “Full Rate Separation” phase

The volume of SEG+ Concentrates to be separated under this phase is the balance of SEG+ Concentrate remaining in the DLA Strategic Materials’ inventory after performance of the Low- Rate Initial Separation Phase. The Contractor would separate the concentrate into elements, as described later in this document, and deliver this separated material back to the Government.

2.3 SELECTION CLASSES FOR SEPARATION PRODUCTS

The potential Contractor may have limits that restrict recoveries of Individual Rare Earth Oxide (IREO) Products known to be present in the SEG chemical concentrate. The Contractor should select an objective capability choice for the separations that will be made. Four Asset classes are described in order of preference and defined for accomplishing objectives to meet the effectual separation of rare earths that approximates the potential Contractors commercial process viability. Separation of rare earths will be pursuant to obtaining recoveries in accord with one of these four asset classes. While Tm2O3 and Lu2O3 are known to occur in SEG+ it may not be possible to isolate and recover these two rare earths either because the concentration level is too low for the technology to effectuate separation or that the system cannot be optimized for recovery at low volume feeds. Recovery of all rare earths should be attempted in accord with the asset class objectives with outcomes addressed in document reporting. Where IREO cannot be separated they should still be recovered as a residual mixed rare earth concentrate, assayed, identified, retained and accounted for as part of mass balance records and deliverable inventory.

2.3.1 For asset class 1:

The objective of separating products in this class are to produce 11 assets comprised of eleven product concentrates of the Individual Rare Earth Oxides (IREO) products: Sm2O3, Eu2O3, Gd2O3, Tb4O7, Dy2O3, Ho2O3, Er2O3, Tm2O3, Yb2O3, Lu2O3, and Y2O3 from the SEG+ concentrate provided.

2.3.2 For asset class 2:

The combined objective of separation in this class is to produce 7 assets: 6 product concentrates of Sm2O3, Eu2O3, Gd2O3, Tb4O7, Dy2O3, and Y2O3 as IREO products and a single Heavy Rare Earth Oxide (HREO) residual concentrate comprised of the mixed rare earths – Ho2O3, Er2O3, Tm2O3, Yb2O3, and Lu2O3 from the SEG+ concentrate.

2.3.3 For asset class 3:

Separation in this class will produce 5 assets: 4 product concentrates of Sm2O3, Eu2O3, Gd2O3 and Y2O3 as IREO products and a single (HREO) residual concentrate comprised of the mixed rare earths; Tb4O7, Dy2O3, Ho2O3, Er2O3, Tm2O3, Yb2O3, and Lu2O3, from the SEG+ concentrate.

2.3.4 For asset class 4:

Separation in this class will produce 4 assets: 3 product concentrates of Sm2O3, Eu2O3, Gd2O3 as IREO products and a single Heavy Rare Earth Oxide (HREO) residual concentrate comprised of the mixed rare earths; Tb4O7, Dy2O3, Ho2O3, Er2O3, Tm2O3, Yb2O3, Lu2O3, and Y2O3 from the SEG+ concentrate.

2.4 Proposed Service Definition:

2.4.1 For Gd2O3, Ho2O3, Er2O3, and Tm2O3, IREO product quality shall be not less than

99.9 wt. % contained Rare Earth Oxide (i.e., “3N”) with LOI less than 1% and

TREO >99%.

2.4.2 For Sm2O3, Eu2O3, Tb4O7, Dy2O3 and Yb2O3, IREO product quality shall be not less than 99.99 wt. % contained Rare Earth Oxide (i.e., “4N”) with LOI less than 1% and TREO >99%.

2.4.3 For Yb2O3 and Lu2O3 IREO product quality shall be not less than 99.999 wt.% contained Rare Earth Oxide (i.e., “5N”) with LOI less than 1% and TREO >99.5%.

2.5 Proposed Delivery Period: Six months from date of contract award.

2.6 Limitations: N/A

2.7 Security Requirements: N/A

3.0 Requested Information

Material Specification Questions

DLA Strategic Materials notes that proprietary specification information submitted to the Government will be held as Business Confidential; all Government and contractor personnel reviewing RFI responses will have signed non-disclosure agreements and understand their responsibility for proper use and protection from unauthorized disclosure of proprietary information as described in 41 USC 423 Specification information is important as it helps ensure that the materials potentially acquired for the NDS could be released to industry for the production of end items in the event of a National Emergency.

• Please provide specifications of the IREO (Sm2O3, Eu2O3, Gd2O3, Tb4O7, Dy2O3, Ho2O3, Er2O3, Tm2O3, Yb2O3, Lu2O3, and Y2O3) produced, sold, or required by your company.

• Please provide forecasted specifications for the IREO to be produced, sold or required by your company. Specifications can be commercial or company specific.

• Please include any comparable Safety Data Sheet (SDS), or Certificate of Analyses (COA) for IREOs (i.e., Sm2O3, Eu2O3, Gd2O3, Tb4O7, Dy2O3, Ho2O3, Er2O3, Tm2O3, Yb2O3, Lu2O3, and Y2O3) your company might provide to the Government that has been or will be used to characterize the product materials after the separation of Government-furnished SEG concentrate.

Pricing and Industrial Capability Questions

• On what basis do you typically price the IREO material resulting from chemical concentrate separation processing?

• Are there frequent changes in the price of this material? If yes, how do you typically address price changes?

• Please provide a copy of a redacted commercial contract that includes your standard terms and conditions.

• What is your production/delivery capacity per year?

• What is the unit of measure that you use to price IREO materials?

• Do you provide a quantities price break?

• Is there an applicable shipment variance?

• Please provide a rough order of magnitude cost estimate for your capabilities to separate a

500 kg lot of SEG Concentrate, in accordance with Section 2.1 and Section 2.2. Respondents may submit multiple cost estimates to reflect the variable capabilities of Section 2.1 and the specifications in Section 2.2.

Packing Questions

• Outline industry acceptable packaging methods that your company uses to store and transport the IREO products. Please include any information that relates to how the IREO may conform to industry standards for packaging.

• NDS materials, including any IREOs to be obtained from this effort, may be stored for greater than twenty-five years. Please include information on the following issues for IREOs in long-term storage:

o Shelf life, o Environmental impact, o Applicable Federal Regulations, and o If any, material rotation requirements.

Environmental/Health & Safety Questions

• Does the vendor have the capability to send back Safety Data Sheets for each constituent (rare earth) separated? If not currently the practice, could the vendor provide individual SDS for each constituent?

• Can the vendor produce the SDS for each IREO separated?

• Is hazardous waste generated from the rare earth oxide separation process? If so, typically how much hazardous waste is generated and how is it disposed of by the vendor?

• Are there special transportation considerations for transporting material to and from the

Government Depot to the vendor? Are there hazardous material considerations (packaging, manifest requirements)?

• Please provide an overall generic flow sheet for SEG concentrate impurity removal with documentation for proposed removal of non-rare earth impurities existing in the original SEG concentrate and address how the impurities will be disposed of in a stable and safe form.

Contracting Questions

• Is separation of SEG a frequent requirement for your organization? If yes, how frequent?

• What is your preferred contract type?

• What is your typical or estimated delivery time for IREO products from the date of receiving a contract/order?

• Do you have an active iRAPT account for submitting electronic invoices in the Wide Area

Workflow System?

• If, as a requirement for contract award under an RFP, you were requested to provide sales data identifying the percentage of material sold to the Government and the percentage of material sold to the general public, would you provide such information?

• Is your company registered in the System for Award Management (SAM)?

(https://www.sam.gov/).

• Does your company have a cage code?

https://www.sam.gov/

• Do you typically use subcontractors to produce/provide this material or service?

• Would you provide certified financial statements, if requested?

• Please submit lessons learned from current or previous contract awards.

4.0 Additional Requested Information

Operational Parameters

• Approximate the timeline and availability to conduct separations on the 1st STEP, 500 kg sample of SEG concentrate?

• Please provide a generic description of the separation technology employed. The description should include methods of dissolution, reagent selections volumetric requirements, footprint of operations, stages of reiterative separation circuitry necessary to obtain high recovery.

• Provide an overview of the limitations, restrictions, and advantages for separating different types of mixed rare earth chemical concentrates (identified by form) or other important physical and chemical factors that affect the methodology.

• Provide a simplified flowsheet that will be used in conjunction with recording mass-balance of the material received through IREO products recovered, wastes generated and losses. This flowsheet and mass-balance should be provided in the final report.

• Provide the MRL (Manufacturing Readiness Level) that your separation facility is rated.

Costs for pricing the work plan

• If possible provide a “fixed rate” cost estimate identifying operational costs on a dollar per kilogram ($/kg) basis. Included with this cost estimate metric, a proportional breakdown of those costs (operating expenses e.g., labor, consumables, power, water etc.) and cost of goods sold, one time set-up costs, and a calculation for expected profit. should be included.

• Alternatively, submission of a “fixed price” cost estimate will assume that the price indicates the maximum capacity of material that can be processed as limited by the company’s technology or delivery time required to process the separations. This type of proposal limits awarding the number of lots that specifically correlate to the fixed price for a fixed service. It cannot be presumed that efficiencies will be gained by processing higher volumes of material beyond the volume identified in the “fixed price” cost estimate. All operational costs (operating expenses such as Labor, consumables, Power, Water etc., cost of goods sold, one time set-up costs and expected profits) should be categorized and provided.

• Provide an approximate dollar estimate of the one-time “set up costs” that will be necessary to enable the proposed separation technology to operate as a dedicated circuit including reagent costs and expendables.

5.0 Responses

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

5.2 White papers in a version of Microsoft Word compatible with Office 2010 compatible format are due no later than 10 January 2018, 5:00 pm) EST. Responses shall be limited to two pages for Section 2 which does not include pagination for SDS or COA attachment information on the eleven IREO specified above and 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. All information received that is marked Proprietary will be handled accordingly. Please be advised that all submissions become Government property and will not be returned. All Government and contractor personnel reviewing RFI responses will have signed non-disclosure agreements and understand their responsibility for proper use and protection from unauthorized disclosure of proprietary information as described in 41 USC 423. The Government shall not be held liable for any damages incurred if proprietary information is not properly identified.

5.3 Section 1 of the white paper shall provide administrative information and shall include the following as a minimum:

5.3.1 Name, mailing address, overnight delivery address (if different from mailing address), phone number, fax number, and email of designated point of contact.

5.3.2 Recommended contract strategy.

5.3.3 Either, (1) copies of executed non-disclosure agreement (NDA) with the contractors supporting DLA Strategic Materials in technical evaluations or (2) a statement that the responders will not allow the Government to release its proprietary data to the Government support contractors. In the absence of either of the foregoing, the Government will assume that the responder does NOT agree to the release of its submission to Government support contractors.

5.3.4 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). “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, averaging no more than [vendor fill-in] million dollars in annual receipts. 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. Responders are cautioned, however, that this is a general description only.

Additional standards and conditions apply. Please refer to Federal Acquisition mailto:SMContracting@dla.mil

Regulation FAR 19 for additional detailed information on Small Business Size Standards. The FAR is available at http://farsite.hill.af.mil/vffara.htm.

5.3.5 The facility security clearance of the offeror.

The number of pages in Section 1 of the white paper shall not be included in the page count limitation, i.e., the page limitation applies only to Section 2 of the white paper.

5.4 Section 2 of the white paper shall answer the issues addressed in Section 3 of this RFI and shall be limited to two pages which does not include pagination for SDS or COA attachment information for the eleven IREO specified in above pages

6.0 Industry Discussions

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.

7.0 Questions

Questions regarding this announcement shall be submitted in writing by email to the Contracting office, email address above. Verbal questions will NOT be accepted. Questions will be answered by posting answers to Federal Business Opportunities (www.fbo.gov) website; accordingly, questions shall NOT contain proprietary or classified information. The Government does not guarantee that questions received after 3 January 2018 will be answered.

8.0 Summary

THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION ONLY to identify sources that can provide SEG Concentrate Separation. 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://farsite.hill.af.mil/vffara.htm