Research with grok16 Mar 2025 12:54
How much helium can he1 recover for sale in tanzania
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Helium One Global (HE1) is a key player in helium exploration in Tanzania, primarily focused on the Rukwa Helium Project in the Rukwa Rift Basin. Estimating how much helium HE1 can recover for sale involves looking at the prospective resources they’ve identified, the progress of their projects, and the practicalities of extraction and commercialization. Based on available data up to March 16, 2025, here’s what can be pieced together:
HE1’s flagship Rukwa Project has an independently verified Best-Estimate Unrisked Prospective Recoverable Helium Resource (2U/P50) of 138 billion cubic feet (bcf), as assessed by SRK in 2019-2020. This figure represents the total potential helium that could be present across the project area, making it the largest known primary helium resource globally. However, "unrisked" means it doesn’t account for geological, technical, or economic risks that could reduce the recoverable amount. A more conservative estimate, the 2U Risked Prospective Resource, is around 14 bcf, reflecting a portion more likely to be recoverable after factoring in such uncertainties.
Recent developments provide more insight. In 2023, HE1’s drilling at the Itumbula West-1 well in the southern Rukwa region confirmed helium concentrations up to 4.7%, with flows to the surface indicating a producible reservoir. Following this, in September 2024, HE1 submitted a feasibility study and secured a Mining Licence in March 2025 from Tanzania’s Mining Commission for a 480 km² area in the southern Rukwa Basin. This licence marks a shift from exploration to potential production, though full-scale extraction hasn’t started as of now.
Not all of the 138 bcf—or even the 14 bcf risked estimate—will be recoverable for sale. Recovery depends on factors like extraction efficiency, infrastructure, and market conditions. Industry recovery rates for helium vary, but primary helium projects (unlike byproduct extraction from natural gas) can target higher recovery if the gas is trapped in accessible geological structures. HE1’s helium is associated with nitrogen, not hydrocarbons, and occurs in high concentrations (up to 10.4% in some seeps), which could improve recovery efficiency compared to typical low-concentration sources (0.1-0.3%). Still, without specific recovery factor data from HE1, a typical range of 50-80% for gas extraction might apply to the risked resource, suggesting 7-11 bcf as a ballpark for what could realistically be extracted over time from the licensed area.
The southern Rukwa project, where the Mining Licence applies, is a subset of the broader 3,590 km² Rukwa Project. While exact resource allocation per region isn’t public, exploration updates suggest significant potential in this southern section. A November 2024 report from Tanzania Mining Digest estimated 98.9 bcf for the Rukwa Rift Basin, possibly reflecting updated assessments, though