Precious Metals

INTRODUCTION This is a Sources Sought notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding the availability and capability of qualified business sources. Your responses to the information requested will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a set-aside is possible. NIST is seeking responses from all responsible sources, including large, foreign, and small businesses. Small businesses are defined under the associated NAICS code for this effort, 331491, as those domestic sources having 750 employees or less. Please include your company's size classification and socio-economic status in any response to this notice. NOTE: This notice is strictly for obtaining Market Research. There will be no Question & Answer period under this Sources Sought Notice. BACKGROUND/PURPOSE The National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) seeks information on commercial vendors capable of providing precious metals to support nanofabrication in the Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (CNST), NIST's nanotechnology user facility to support nanofabrication in the Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (CNST), NIST's nanotechnology user facility. The precious metals will be evaporated using electron beam evaporation or sputtered using argon gas. After the results of this market research are obtained and analyzed and specifications are developed that can meet NIST's minimum requirements, NIST may conduct a competitive procurement and subsequently award a Purchase Order. If at least two qualified small businesses are identified during this market research stage, then any competitive procurement that resulted would be conducted as a small business set-aside. SCOPE NIST is seeking contractors who have the capabilities to provide precious metals meeting or exceeding the following specifications: 1. Materials The materials sought include but are not limited to: - Gold - Platinum - Silver - Palladium 2. Purity - Gold: 99.999% - Platinum: 99.99% - Silver: 99.999% - Palladium: 99.99% 3. Shape and size - Disk (sputtering target): 3.0" diameter, 1/8" and " thick - Pellet (for evaporation): small cylinder, sphere or oval-shaped, typically a few mm in any dimensions, up to a maximum of " 4. Yearly quantity (typical) - Disks: 1-2 of each material - Pellets ? Gold: 1,400 grams ? Platinum: 200 grams ? Silver: 250 grams ? Palladium: 100grams 5. Certificate of Analysis (C of A) A C of A shall be provided with each shipment clearly indicating lot number and elemental chemical analysis results. 6. Precious metal reclaim A system of reclaim is sought by which used disks can be sent back to the vendor for credit toward future purchase. 7. Delivery suggestion The gold pellets can be delivered according to a preset schedule (like "so many grams" per month). All the other materials shall be on-demand. Other proposed methods will be considered as well. 8. Anticipated Period of Performance 5 Years - Base period with 4 option periods. RESPONSE INFORMATION In order for a contractor to clearly convey their capability to fulfill the above-identified need, they MUST SUBMIT the following information. It is preferred that Capability Statements address each of the materials in the order in which they are listed below. Please provide information regarding the following: 1. Companies that manufacture or can provide the materials with the desired characteristics must submit a detailed capability statement, addressing all of the specifications discussed above, in an organized format (preferably in the same order as listed above) that allows for a direct correlation to the requested information. 2. Indication of number of days, after receipt of order that is typical for delivery of such materials. 3. Any other relevant information that is not listed above which the Government should consider in developing its minimum specifications and finalizing its market research. 4. The contractor must describe the length of its warranty and what is included in the warranty. The contractor needs to describe if they offer an extended warranty option and what it includes. Each response shall include the following Business Information: 1. Name of the company that manufactures the materials for which specifications are provided. 2. Name of company(ies) that are authorized to sell the materials, their addresses, and a point of contact for the company (name, phone number, fax number and email address). 3. Name, title, telephone number, and e-mail addresses of individuals who can verify the demonstrated capabilities identified in the responses. 4. Business size for NAICS 331491 (750 employees) and status, if qualified as an 8(a) firm (must be certified by SBA), Small Disadvantaged Business (must be certified by SBA), Woman-Owned Small Business, HUBZone firm (must be certified by SBA), and/or Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (must be listed in the VetBiz Contractor Information Pages). 5. DUNS number, CAGE Code, Tax Identification Number, and company structure (Corporation, LLC, partnership, joint venture, etc.). Companies also must be registered in the Central Contractor Registry (CCR, at www.ccr.gov) to be considered as potential sources. 6. Identification of the firm's GSA Schedule contract(s) by Schedule number and contract number and SINs that are applicable to this potential requirement are also requested. SUBMISSION INFORMATION Responses must be submitted no later than October 19th at 11:00AM, EST. Capability statements will not be returned and will not be accepted after the due date. GENERAL INFORMATION As previously stated, the Government will not entertain questions regarding this Market Research; however, general questions may be forwarded to the following: Contracts Specialist: January Magyar Email Address: January.Magyar@nist.gov Phone: 301-975-5442 Contracting Officer: Lynda Roark Email Address: Lynda.Roark@nist.gov Phone: 301-975-3725 "Disclaimer and Important Notes. This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization's qualifications to perform the work. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. After a review of the responses received, a pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation may be published in Federal Business Opportunities. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation. Confidentiality. No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s)."