Request for information mineral processing leasing opportunities
Closed Pre-Solicitation Posted
- Solicitation number
- AFCEC-26-R-0011
- Agency
-
Air Force Installation Contracting Agency
Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center, Department of Defense
- Responses due
- Set-aside
- No set-aside
Opportunity facts
- NAICS code
- 53119 Lessors of Other Real Estate Property
- Place of performance
- Mountain Home AFB, Idaho 83648, United States
- Points of contact
Notice details come from SAM.gov. Updated .
About this opportunity
The Department of the Air Force Materiel Command Installation and Mission Support Center is conducting market research through a Request for Information on mineral processing leasing opportunities on Air Force installations, with industry responses due October 9, 2026. This is not a binding solicitation but the first phase of a process to leverage non-excess underutilized DAF surface land for mineral processing facilities, including rare earth element processing, in support of presidential directives on leveraging federal assets for critical minerals production.
The RFI is strictly limited to surface-use activities—refining, smelting, and production of processed critical minerals and derivative products—and explicitly excludes subsurface mineral exploration or extraction. Four installations have been preliminarily identified for consideration: Mountain Home AFB (Idaho), Luke AFB (Arizona), Kirtland AFB (New Mexico), and Hill AFB (Utah), each with distinct infrastructure, water availability, environmental, and cultural resource constraints.
Industry responses must address five primary areas: suitable minerals for processing; desired installation locations with prioritization and caveats; developer experience, deal structures, financing approaches, acceptable lease terms, risk mitigation, and timeline feasibility; site selection criteria including size, slope, power requirements, water and wastewater solutions, transportation access, and waste stream treatment specifications; and project feasibility including CFIUS considerations, workforce needs, security requirements, mission interference avoidance, reclamation plans, and NEPA compliance costs. Questions may be submitted through September 23, 2026. Responses will be treated as public documents unless marked proprietary with justification. Contact Jeff Blankenship at jeffrey.blankenship.2@us.af.mil or afcec.ciue.workflow@us.af.mil.
Notice text
This Request for Information (RFI) is the first phase of a process to leverage non-excess under-utilized Department of the Air Force (DAF) surface land to accelerate economic development in the United States and to enhance mission readiness in connection with presidential directives and policy directing agencies to leverage federal assets to support mineral processing facilities, to include processing of rare earth elements.
For purposes of this RFI, mineral processing is strictly limited to surface use activities, including refining, and smelting of minerals, and the production of processed critical minerals and other derivative products. This RFI does not solicit interest in the exploration or extraction of subsurface minerals. While the Department of the Interior/Bureau of Land Management (DOI/BLM) generally controls the leasing and disposition of federally owned subsurface minerals, the DAF maintains authority over whether and under what conditions a party may physically occupy or use the surface of a DAF installation consistent with mission requirements.
Files
| File | Type | Posted |
|---|---|---|
| DAF RFI Mineral Processing.pdf |
Similar open opportunities
| Opportunity | Agency | Set-aside | Responses due |
|---|---|---|---|
| DOE Critical Mineral Resource Potential | Office of Environmental Management | No set-aside |
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