Helium One Global, a helium exploration company with projects in the US and Africa, has been granted a mining licence for its flagship Rukwa Helium Project in Tanzania.
The licence covers around 480sq km in the Momba and Sumbawanga Districts in the southern Rukwa Basin.
Source: Helium One Global
CEO Lorna Blaisse said it was the first mining licence for helium to be issued in Tanzania. News of the licence caused Helium One shares to spike on the London Stock Exchange, where it is AIM-listed. In recent trading shares were up by 17%.
The Rukwa geological basin occupies the western branch of the East Africa Rift System and contains surface helium seeps with concentrations up to 10.4%, with no association with hydrocarbons or carbon dioxide, and only nitrogen as the carrier gas.
The North Rukwa region may prove just as lucrative, with assessments revealing recoverable helium resources up to 138 billion cubic feet.
Blaisse spoke exclusively to gasworld following her panel session at the Helium Super Summit 2024 last year.
She discussed the potential challenges of running a helium exploration company out of Tanzania, recent developments with Helium One, and when it is looking to extract first helium.
Video: What’s new with Helium One?
Speaking on a recent gasworld webinar, Phil Kornbluth, Founder and President at Kornbluth Helium Consulting, said Asia would likely be the commercial target market for helium in Tanzania.
“You can get from Dar es Salaam to Asian markets – it’s not that big a deal. The issue is that projects would need to be large scale to absorb the cost of increased infrastructure,” he said. “They need to be big or not at all.”
Video: Is there an African market for helium?
While the US, Qatar and Russia are spearheading helium production, the globalised helium industry needs more capacity to meet rising demand and for a more diverse market for these economically and geopolitically charged times.
In a separate statement on the Galactica project, Helium One Global said the Jackson-31 well successfully drilled to total depth of 1,210ft (368.8m) and samples for helium and carbon dioxide analysis had been sent off for testing.
