Gold Hydrogen Ltd (ASX:GHY) has fielded promising findings from its Ramsay Project on South Australia's Yorke Peninsula, which it believes point to the potential for a "world-class" helium resource.
The company's drill results from November 2023 revealed helium concentrations of up to 6.8% in raw gas, unprecedented in the search for the rare, green energy source.
A prospective resource report, prepared by independent certifiers based on the SPE-PRMS guidelines, outlines a mean estimate of 96 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of helium across a 2,000 square kilometre area, covering around 25% of the project site.
Potential to be global leader
These estimates suggest the Ramsay Project could emerge as a leading helium project globally, contingent on further exploration and development.
Helium, known for its rarity and extensive use in medical, technological and space exploration applications, currently sees 95% of its production derived from hydrocarbon environments.
The discovery of such high helium concentrations in a non-petroleum system introduces the prospect of environmentally friendly helium production.
Gold Hydrogen's exploration strategy includes comprehensive testing scheduled for March 2024, aiming to validate the presence and recoverability of helium within the Ramsay 1 and Ramsay 2 wells.
This phase is critical for assessing the project's commercial viability, with helium's market value underscored by its scarcity and high demand, which is expected to grow annually by 3% to 5%.
"Huge value-add"
Managing director Neil McDonald said: “The world-class results for the Ramsay Project continue with Gold Hydrogen being able to obtain this prospective resource report for helium.
“Our independent certifiers have been able to review all the historical and current data.
"To have them assess and report that we have 96 Bcf of helium (mean) on the Ramsay Project, which only covers an area which is 25% of this granted permit, is an exceptional result and a huge value add to our company.
Project has scale
“Considering that helium projects are commercial around the world from 1% purity and we have 6.8% purity raw gas from recent exploration results, combining this with a market where helium is expected on a longer-term basis to sell for approximately US$450 per Mcf, we may very well have a world-class helium project, and one with scale.
“We are incredibly pleased with the helium results, as we consider they can only further enhance the Ramsay Project, which has identified multiple target zones for both hydrogen and helium.”
Despite the promising prospective resource estimates, Gold Hydrogen says there is a need for further exploration to confirm the existence and recoverability of significant helium quantities.