Eng. Fernando L. Zancan, Exec Mgr, Santa Catarina's Coal Producers Assoc, Rua Pascoal Meller, 73 -- CP 37, 88805-350 Criciuma, Santa Catarina, BR; Tel:011-55-48-431-7600; Fax: 011-55-48-431-7650; Email: zancan@satc.rct-sc.br

B -- TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE CONSULTANCY ON THE USE OF CONTINUOUS MINER TECHNOLOGY IN BRAZIL POC POC Evangela Kunene, USTDA, 1621 N. Kent Street, Suite 300, Arlington, VA 22209-2131, Tel: (703) 875-4357, Fax: (703) 875-4009 The Santa Catarina Coal Producers Association, or SIECESC (the Grantee), a consortium of major Brazilian coal producers, invites submission of qualifications and proposal data (collectively referred to as the "Proposal") from interested U.S. firms which are qualified on the basis of experience and capability to conduct a technical assistance consultancy on the use of continuous miner technology in the Brazilian coal industry. A pilot mine will be used located near the city of Criciuma in the State of Santa Catarina, Brazil. Firms that are experienced in continuous miner technology with respect to underground coal mining, and which will commit specific experienced personnel to work on the Project with SIECESC, will be preferred. Specific tasks will include the following: (1) Assist in the modification of the existing mine design at the Fontanella pilot coal mine to reflect the use of continuous miner technology on the Bonito seam; (2) Assist the mine's Operations Manager in defining the operational and performance parameters of a continuous miner with respect to mining the Bonito seam; (3) Assist the mine managers in developing and quantifying operation and maintenance cost schedules for the continuous miner at the Bonita seam for budgeting purposes; and (4) Assist the mine managers in understanding and quantifying the cost reductions that are directly attributable to the use of a continuous miner. The U.S. firm selected will be paid in U.S. dollars from a $87,000 grant to the Grantee from the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (TDA). A detailed Request for Proposals (RFP), which includes requirements for the Proposal, the Terms of Reference, and a background definitional mission report are available from TDA, at 1621 N. Kent Street, Suite 300, Arlington, VA 22209-2131. Requests for the RFP should be faxed to the IRC, TDA at (703) 875-4009. In the fax, please include your firm's name, contact person, address, and telephone number. Some firms have found that RFP materials sent by U.S. mail do not reach them in time for preparation of an adequate response. Firms that want TDA to use an overnight delivery service should include the name of the delivery service and your firm's account number in the request for the RFP. Firms that want to send a courier to TDA to retrieve the RFP should allow one hour after faxing the request to TDA before scheduling a pick-up. Please note that no telephone requests for the RFP will be honored. Please check your internal fax verification receipt. Because of the large number of RFP requests, TDA cannot respond to requests for fax verification. Requests received after 4:00 PM will be mailed the following day. Please check with your courier and/or mailroom before calling TDA. Only U.S. firms and individuals may bid on this TDA financed activity. Interested firms, their subcontractors and employees of all participants must qualify under TDA's nationality requirements as of the due date for submission of qualifications and proposals and, if selected to carry out the TDA-financed activity,must continue to meet such requirements throughout the duration of the TDA-financed activity. All goods and services to be provided by the selected firm shall have their nationality, source and origin in the U.S. or host country. The U.S. firm may use subcontractors from the host country for up to 20 percent of the TDA grant amount. Details of TDA's nationality requirements and mandatory contract clauses are also included in the RFP. Interested U.S. firms should submit their Proposal in English directly to the Grantee by 4:00 p.m., July 17, 1998 at the above address. Evaluation criteria for the Proposal are included in the RFP. Price will not be a factor in contractor selection, and therefore, cost proposals should NOT be submitted. The Grantee reserves the right to reject any and/or all Proposals. The Grantee also reserves the right to contract with the selected firm for subsequent work related to the project. The Grantee is not bound to pay for any costs associated with the preparation and submission of Proposals. (0154)

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