London South East were delighted to welcome David Minchin, CEO at Helium One Global (HE1), the AIM and OTC-listed helium explorer to their Natural Resources webinar on 6.12.2022. Helium One is exploring in Tanzania across three project areas, Rukwa, Balangida and Eyasi.

Helium is used as a valuable inert gas for many industrial and space purposes and HE1 believes it has the potential to become a major player in a supply-constrained market. The flagship project is in the massive Rukwa Rift Basin in south-west Tanzania, partially de-risked by the 2021 drilling campaign at Tai which identified a working helium system. David confirmed that Tai 2 is due to spud in Q1 2023 with a rig supplied by Exalo and supported by Baker Hughes.

He accepted that 2022 had been a challenging year for the company but celebrated the fact that HE1 are back on the ground and getting ready to drill.

Yesterday we had an RNS about the airborne technical analysis completed at Balangida Basin, and to be used at Eyasi, and David confirmed that this is groundbreaking technology which has been developed by them. "This is a very useful first step in pointing to areas where commercial helium might be found" he said. He emphasised that rather than an open drill they are taking point samples and pressure readings which more accurately indicate where helium pockets are located.