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Sources Sought The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is conducting market research to determine the availability of qualified businesses capable of scanning 20 samples of mineralized rock using the Maia M... Sources Sought The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is conducting market research to determine the availability of qualified businesses capable of scanning 20 samples of mineralized rock using the Maia Mapper system (microXRF mapping) and processing the data as described in the attached Statement of Work Synopsis. This sources sought announcement is not a request for quote or proposal and the Government is not committed to award of a purchase order or contract pursuant to this announcement. The information resulting from this market research is simply for planning purposes to assist the Government in determining its acquisition strategy. The Government will not pay for any costs incurred in the preparation of information for responding to this notice. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code - 541380, Testing Laboratory and associated size standard $16.5 million apply to this announcement. All responsible sources may submit capabilities statement detailing the ability of their service to meet the statement of work synopsis included with this announcement. Responses to this announcement shall only be accepted through electronic mail addressed to yangzhideng@usgs.gov and must be uploaded and received in their entirety no later than December 13, 2021 at 1700 ET. Responses submitted by hardcopy or the FedConnect web portal or the FedConnect Message Center shall not be accepted or considered. Statement of Work Synopsis USGS will choose and provide 20 samples; each sample will be up to 4 inches wide and 8 inches long. Each sample will have a saw-cut surface that has been lapped to remove saw marks. Data will be acquired continuously as individual photon events tagged with sensor number and X-Y position. Image "pixels" will be reconstructed from the X-Y information, with an effective dwell time in each pixel set by the motion velocity. Pixel resolution will be approximately 30 microns, with scanning times adjusted to give between 4 and 6 milliseconds per pixel in order to give an approximate theoretical detection limit of a few tens of ppm of Pt for a 30 micron pixel. This will be sufficient to "resolve" a ~1 micron grain of a Pt-rich mineral in each pixel, but too low to detect Pt in solid solution in sulfides at the typical sub-ppm levels reported by laser ablation studies. The data will be analyzed event by event using the Dynamic Analysis (DA) method for real-time spectral deconvolution to accumulate element concentration maps with spectral overlap, pileup and background removal. Data reduction is performed using which a standardless fundamental parameter method (such as used in GeoPIXETM software). The laboratory conducting the work must be able to demonstrate that they: - Have at experience using micro-XRF scanning to find and map micron-size PGM grains in samples of mafic and ultramafic igneous rock - Have the cumulative experience and state-of-the-art capabilities as demonstrated by a publication record of peer-reviewed papers on micro-XRF scanning to map the distribution of PGM minerals.