Beneficiation and Metallurgical Testing Services

PART 1 – ADVANCE CONTRACT AWARD NOTICE (ACAN)

An ACAN is a public notice indicating to the supplier community that a department or agency intends to award a contract for goods, services, or construction to a pre-identified supplier, thereby allowing other suppliers to signal their interest in bidding, by submitting a statement of capabilities. If no supplier submits a statement of capabilities that meets the requirements set out in the ACAN, on or before the closing date stated in the ACAN, the contracting officer may then proceed with the award to the pre-identified supplier.

PART 2 – DEFINITION OF THE REQUIREMENT

The Department of Natural Resources Canada has a requirement for beneficiation and metallurgical testing of apatite-bearing carbonatite tailings. The work must be carried out at the supplier’s premises and involve the following tasks.

1. For phase I, the contractor must recover apatite from a 300 kg tailings sample to be provided by the Department of Natural Resources Canada. The recovered apatite will then undergo hydrometallurgy to produce (1) phosphoric acid, and; (2) a high purity (< 1 ppm Th, U) mixed rare earth element (REE) carbonate. This high purity REE carbonate can then be used in downstream processing to produce individual rare earth element separates.

2. The contractor must provide three preliminary reports with the test details and results. The final report will contain all test details and results and include shipping the high purity REE carbonate aliquot produced to the Technical Authority in Ottawa.

Report 1. Preparation of 300 kg tailings sample, magnetic and heavy liquid separation, to be provided within 6 weeks of contract award.
Report 2. Sample froth flotation, concentrate preparation, to be provided within 12 week of contract award.
Report 3. Sample metallurgical tests (phosphoric acid, REE, recovery, REE purification) to be provided within 25 weeks of contract award.
Final Report. To include all test details and results, and the high purity REE carbonate produced to be provided within 26 weeks of contract award.

3. For phase II, the contractor must conduct small scale pilot testing of a 2 ton tailings sample to be provided by the Department of Natural Resources Canada. The testing and reporting requirements are similar to those outlined in phase I.

4. The contractor must regularly consult with the Technical Authority at key stages and decision points of the bench testing program.

PART 3 – CRITERIA FOR ASSESSMENT OF THE STATEMENT OF CAPABILITIES (MINIMUM ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS)

Any interested supplier must demonstrate by way of a statement of capabilities that it meets the following requirements:

1. The supplier must be capable of accepting an apatite-bearing carbonatite tailings sample of at least 2 tons;
2. The supplier must be capable of performing the following metallurgical tests at its usual place of business :
a. Crushing and grinding of a 2 ton sample of apatite bearing tailings;
b. Beneficiation of apatite-bearing carbonatite tailings samples using magnetic separation, heavy liquid separation, flotation and chemical methods;
c. Recovery and extraction of rare earth elements to form REE carbonates.
3. The supplier must have performed the above noted metallurgical tests on sample sizes of at least 2 tons within the five (5) years prior to the closing date of this notice.
4. The supplier must propose a resource who possesses a university degree in a field relevant to the work and has a minimum of two (2) years of experience providing scientific analysis of test results within the five (5) years prior to the closing date of this notice.
5. The supplier must have experience preparing summaries and reports of results from the above noted metallurgical tests to clients.

PART 4 – APPLICABILITY OF THE TRADE AGREEMENT(S) TO THE PROCUREMENT

This procurement is subject to the following trade agreement(s):

• Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA)
• Revised World Trade Organization - Agreement on Government Procurement (WTO-AGP)
• Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA)
• Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP)
• Canada-Chile Free Trade Agreement (CCFTA)
• Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement
• Canada-Honduras Free Trade Agreement
• Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement
• Canada-Panama Free Trade Agreement
• Canada-Peru Free Trade Agreement (CPFTA)
• Canada-United Kingdom Trade Continuity Agreement (Canada-UK TCA)
• Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement (CUFTA)

PART 5 – JUSTIFICATION FOR THE PRE-IDENTIFIED SUPPLIER

The supplier mentioned in section 13 below is the only known supplier that meets the mandatory criteria set out in section 3 above.

Should Canada receive a statement of capabilities from a supplier that contains sufficient information to indicate that it meets the requirements set forth in this ACAN, a competitive process will be triggered with a technical and financial evaluation methodology of the bids proposed by the potential bidders.

PART 6 – GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS REGULATIONS EXCEPTION(S)

The following exception(s) to the Government Contracts Regulations is (are) invoked for this procurement under subsection 6(d) only one person is capable of performing the work.

The identified supplier, Saskatchewan Research Council, is the only one able to meet all of the criteria identified in paragraph 3 above.

PART 7 – EXCLUSIONS AND/OR LIMITED TENDERING REASONS

The following exclusion(s) and/or limited tendering reasons are invoked under the:
• Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) – Article: 513.1(b) (iii);
• World Trade Organization - Agreement on Government Procurement (WTO-AGP) – Under the Revised GPA - Article XIII, 1 (b) (iii);
• Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) – Article(s) Article 19.12 (b) (iii)
• Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) – Article(s): 15.10 , 2 (b) (iii) (s)
• Canada-Chile Free Trade Agreement (CCFTA) – Article(s) Kbis-09 (b),Article Kbis-09 (c)
• Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement – Article(s): 1409 (b) (iii);
• Canada-Honduras Free Trade Agreement – Article(s): 17.11 2 (b) (iii)
• Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement – Article 14.3, Under the Revised GPA - Article XIII, 1 (b) (iii);
• Canada-Panama Free Trade Agreement – Article(s) 16.10 (b) (iii)
• Canada-Peru Free Trade Agreement (CPFTA) – Article(s)1409 (b) (iii)
• Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement (CUFTA) – Article(s) 10.13 (b) (iii)

PART 8 – OWNERSHIP OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Canada intends to retain ownership of any Foreground Intellectual Property arising out of the proposed contract on the basis that the main purpose of the contract is to generate knowledge and information for public dissemination.

PART 9 – PERIOD OF THE PROPOSED CONTRACT OR DELIVERY DATE

The proposed contract is for a period of 1 year, from June 15, 2024 to March 31, 2025 with 1 one-year optional period.

PART 10 – COST ESTIMATE OF THE PROPOSED CONTRACT

The estimated value of the contract, including options, is $367,477.00 (GST/HST extra).

PART 11 – NAME AND ADDRESS OF THE PRE-IDENTIFIED SUPPLIER

Supplier Name: Saskatchewan Research Council
Address: Bay 2D, 820 51st Street East, Saskatoon, Sask., S7K 0X8 Canada

PART 12 – SUPPLIERS' RIGHT TO SUBMIT A STATEMENT OF CAPABILITIES

Suppliers who consider themselves fully qualified and available to provide the goods, services or construction services described in the ACAN may submit a statement of capabilities in writing to the contact person identified in this notice on or before the closing date of this notice. The statement of capabilities must clearly demonstrate how the supplier meets the advertised requirements.

PART 13 – CLOSING DATE FOR A SUBMISSION OF A STATEMENT OF CAPABILITIES

The closing date and time for accepting statements of capabilities is June 13, 2024 at 2:00 p.m. EDT.

PART 14 – INQUIRIES AND SUBMISSION OF STATEMENTS OF CAPABILITIES

Inquiries and statements of capabilities are to be directed to:
Name: Jason Mulligan
Title: Procurement Specialist
Address: 580 Booth Street, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0E4
Telephone: 343-553-8975
E-mail: Jason.Mulligan@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca