Roundtable Discussion; The Future of Mineral Sands. Watch the video here.
Too, in Rukwa, although Tai has consistently been identified as the lowest geological risk and highest chance of success. Nevertheless, the titillating prospect remains that there could be even more helium under licence at Rukwa than even the competent person’s report modelled.
But one thing at a time.
The key is to get cracking at Tai-C, and see how things develop from there.
If a discovery is made, investor interest is likely to be huge and the potential for a re-rating very high.
After all, the global demand for helium is at an all-time high, and Helium One is the primary helium explorer in Tanzania. Almost all the other helium that gets produced is produced as a by-product of hydrocarbons.
And if a discovery is made, how long would it take to move it to production?
The answer is: not too long. Tanzania has been a reasonably benign jurisdiction to operate in as far as Helium One is concerned, and the government is keen to secure a strategic position for the country as one of the major players in helium production.
So, changing Helium One’s exploration licence to a production licence is reckoned to be a relatively straightforward process.
Production, says Blaisse, could come as soon as 18 months after a discovery.
So this is a company that could get very big, very quickly. Watch this space
Helium One will shortly be drilling at Rukwa, and this time with its own, specialist rig
by Alastair Ford
Shares in Helium One Global Ltd (AIM:HE1, OTCQB:HLOGF) jumped by not far short of 100% early in July after the company announced the acquisition of a drill rig.
Ownership of the rig will allow the company it to set its own terms when it comes to drilling the potential huge Rukwa project in Tanzania later this year.
“Everybody recognised the challenges we faced in Tanzania getting an oil and gas type drilling rig,” says Lorna Blaisse, who was appointed chief executive of the company in February.
The rig is due to arrive at site shortly, and the expectation is that the Tai-C well will be drilled in September.
The most obvious difference between this rig and a mining rig that was used before is that it is much more powerful.
Mining rigs are primarily designed to bring up core from large ore bodies in competent rock, which means that the borehole diameter is a much slimmer design. Conventional oil and gas wells are drilled with a wider borehole diameter, as they typically drill through softer rock, and a larger hole diameter is required to improve wellbore stability.
The new Helium One-owned rig will drill the target reservoir section in standard 8.5inch hole, as opposed to the 3.5inch hole drilled in the previous round of drilling. It is a larger rig with a top drive system and, can therefore drill more efficiently.
The new rig is capable of drilling down to depths of between 2,000-metres and -2,400 metres, although the Tai prospect that Helium One is aiming for is reckoned to sit at around 1,200 metres.
The plan is to spend 30 days drilling, including logging and down-hole sampling, and then to wrap it up and assess the results.
All told, the results are likely to be far more conclusive.That will make a nice contrast to the earlier round of drilling, which lingered on for months as the company grappled with various issues associated with the mining rig it was using.
That work includes upgrading access roads and placing a camp close to the wellsite. But it won’t take long.
The company is fully funded for the planned well, following a £10mln fundraise in December last year, and there may even be enough for a second well, depending on outcomes.
“The Tai-1/-1A well was very encouraging, although we weren’t able to reach our total depth nor run a full set of wireline logs. We did have shows, but unless you’ve got wireline log data to determine pay zones, then you’ve no way of quantifying your results
The expectation is that this time round the drilling work will be far more definitive.
And if, as Blaisse hopes, Helium One does make a discovery, the potential scale is likely to be very significant.
At the end of May a competent person’s report reckoned that there might be as much as 2.8bn cubic feet of helium at Tai alone, an amount that equates to around half of the current global demand.
There are other prospects
This board is becoming childish, it's supposed to be about PRD, not calling people names like kids in an unsupervised school playground. Could we please move on now.
Daily Mail:
Helium One, which is looking for helium in Tanzania, will drill a proof-of-concept well by the end of the third quarter of this year. If successful, and if Helium One goes on to prove up what it thinks it's got at its Rukwa project, the company could become one of the world's major suppliers. Expect action in the share price as drilling gets underway.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/investing/article-12307541/SMALL-CAP-IDEA-Lassonde-Curve-predict-future-behaviour-mining-stocks.html
'...the Company will order remaining well control equipment, await the arrival of drill pipe and source an experienced crew. The Company has already mobilised drill bits, wellheads and casing to site at Rukwa.'
Half-of-2. 'Long lead items such as drill bits, bottom hole assemblies, casing and drill pipe that the Company had already purchased for the Drillmec HH102 rig are compatible with the Epiroc Predator 220 rig, and this will keep additional cost spend to a minimum. Some of this equipment has already been mobilised to site in anticipation of the forthcoming operations.'
It's not so much as accuracy from Zak but a possibility, so he's not saying it will go to 14p-15p by month end but it's a possibility according to the chart as he sees it. It's interesting and sometimes he is spot on, sometimes not, other factors can come into play. No one expected this to double so quickly but then no one expected the company to buy a rig!
What does this mean for drilling? They can do a series of drills instead of the 'one trick pony' so many oilers have to play with. I think once the crew are together they will announce a drilling campaign, they have so many prospects it's eye-watering. This is likely to cause a fair amount of top slicing which is a good thing as it prevents heady spikes until the helium flows.
'...as high as 14por 15p by the end of this month.'
At about 7mins 23 secs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agPEkflUVug&t=497s
Ah, Nathan's pal here with more financial advice without checking the facts or he would have seen that the company have the money to start exploiting Heron without a raise. Jog along please LesMouches, or should I say fly away!
Nathan91. June 2023. Progressive Equity research value this at 26.7p (that is after Veliciraptor duster which would have added another 32p)
Perhaps you are beginning to see why this is such an undervalued share. Go on, do yourself a favour, buy in and get rid of your misery.
Nathan. I got in at a very low price but I'm not selling as I know the potential. We have just been given the green light to exploit block XX, can't you read? Please don't reply as you either need to buy in, do some proper research or jog along.
Nathan. You forgot the important stuff. The delay in getting through the governmental red tape has now been overcome and MATD can now capitalise on the Heron discovery. Go to the company website if you really interested and get yourself gemmed up instead of looking at the negatives. Then wait for the next news as the company begins to exploit the asset and turn it into cash $$$, lovely readdies! We have the discovery so buy in while they are still cheap.
• Two discoveries made in Block XX in 2019, Heron 1 and Gazelle 1
• Heron 1 flowed 821 bopd on test, the third best test rate ever recorded in
Mongolia
Heron discovery
• Heron 1: 821 bopd 44° API to surface
• 194 MMbo1
resource in place, 33 MMbo2
to >60
MMbo2
recoverable depending on recovery factor
• Low-cost appraisal/development
• Near-field exploration targets to be exploited during
exploitation phase with high chance of success, low
cost drilling, significant resource potential
I love days like this! Two of my other ones, HE1 and PRD are flying as well. I think this needs to rerate above 10p so we are really only getting back to where we should be. I am hoping Mike Buck will give an update/interview shortly.