Analytical investigation and interpretation (flotation and leaching)

1. Definition:

An Advance Contract Award Notice (ACAN) allows departments and agencies to post a notice, for no less than fifteen (15) calendar days, indicating to the supplier community that it intends to award a good, service or construction contract to a pre-identified contractor. If no other supplier submits, on or before the closing date, a Statement of Capabilities that meets the requirements set out in the ACAN, the competitive requirements of the government's contracting policy have been met. Following notification to suppliers not successful in demonstrating that their Statement of Capabilities meets the requirements set out in the ACAN, the contract may then be awarded using the Treasury Board's electronic bidding authorities.

If other potential suppliers submit Statement of Capabilities during the fifteen calendar day posting period, and meet the requirements set out in the ACAN, the department or agency must proceed to a full tendering process on either the government's electronic tendering service or through traditional means, in order to award the contract.

2. Definition of Requirements:

Background:

Rare earth elements (REE) can be hosted in a wide variety of minerals. An added complexity is that, even within one ore, many of the REE minerals can display extensive solid solution. Such complex chemical substitutions may induce significant variations in crystal and surface properties that can strongly influence the flotation and leaching responses of a single REE mineral. For the various Canadian deposits this can lead to significant challenges in establishing efficient processing approaches.

To address the issues of REE recovery, detailed investigations have been initiated at CanmetMINING in the context of a 6-year Rare Earth Elements (REE) Research and Development initiative. The objective of the research is to link variability in mineral chemistry and structure (both natural and laboratory produced) to flotation and leaching behaviour. One critical aspect of this work is the ability to characterize in detail the surface chemical properties of the minerals after various tests.

The work will focus on two different aspects of the recovery process:

1. Recovery of rare earth minerals and depression of associated gangue minerals
2. Leaching

The first aspect involves evaluating the effectiveness of specific and non-specific collectors and associated modifiers and depressants for the effective flotation recovery of both natural and synthetic analogues of REE minerals. A portion of this investigation will be focused on understanding the mechanisms controlling collector attachment to the mineral surface in the context of mineral selectivity and recovery.

The second aspect is related to variability in REE mineral chemistry and the impact on leaching. In order to investigate chemically linked dissolution controls, surface chemical analyses of designated synthetic mineral analogues with various REE substitutions will be evaluated in response to their leaching behaviour. The investigation will provide valuable mechanistic information linked to the dissolution of REE minerals.

Work Requirements:

Detailed surface analytical investigation and interpretation in the following areas are anticipated:

Flotation

1. Analysis and reporting on the recovery and selectivity of the identified REE mineral(s) and synthetic analogues
2. Analysis and reporting on the interrelationship of various tested reagents towards efficient REE mineral recovery
3. Linking recovery data to various measured surface chemical parameters
4. Characterization of the nature of collector-mineral interactions
5. Identification of the most effective and most selective reagents from those tested for flotation of the selected REE phases
6. Recommendations on the best fit strategy of reagent usage for effective selected mineral recovery

Leaching

1. Analysis and reporting on surface characteristics of REE analogue minerals; comparison to common minerals from same mineral group
2. Characterization of the impact of relevant chemical substitutions on the leaching behavior of important REE minerals.
3. Completion of chemical depth profiles of the dissolution interface to better understand the mechanisms that control dissolution.

3. Trade Agreements:

Not applicable.

4. Title to Intellectual property:

Not applicable.

5. Contract Period:

The period of the proposed contract is for one (1) year plus two (2) options to extend for one (1) years each.

6. Estimated Cost:

The total estimate cost of the proposed contract is $75,000.00 (including taxes and options).

7. Exception to the Government Contracts Regulations and applicable trade agreements:

Part 1, Section 6 (d) of the Government Contract Regulations: Only one firm is capable of performing the work.

Mandatory requirements:

M1) The following surface analytical instruments and testing apparatus housed in a research facility located in Canada:

1. Time-of-Flight/Dynamic Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry
2. X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy
3. Vibrational spectroscopy
4. Microflotation cells

M2) Minimum 10 years’ experience of the research facility in the operation of the surface analytical instruments.

M3) Publication s in peer-reviewed scientific journals with at least one staff member as author or co-author, related to:

1. Novel method development associated with surface characterization techniques; publications within the last 10 years
2. Surface characterization applied to mineral processing; publications within the last 5 years.

The proposed Contractor is the only supplier that meets the above requirements and can complete the requirement as defined in section 2.

8. Name and Address of the Proposed Contractor:

The University of Western Ontario

Surface Science Western

999 Collip Circle

London, ON

9. Inquiries on Submission of Statement of Capabilities:

Suppliers who consider themselves fully qualified and available to provide the services/goods described herein, may submit a Statement of Capabilities in writing, preferably by e-mail (serge.tshimanga@canada.ca), to the contact person identified in this Notice on or before the closing date and time of this Notice. The Statement of Capabilities must clearly demonstrate how the supplier meets the mandatory requirements above. NRCan reserves the right to request additional information for validation purposes.

10. Closing Date:

2 November 2016