Helium One Global Ltd (LON:HE1), the primary helium explorer, has provided an update on progress at its Rukwa (100%) project area in Tanzania including details of its planned 2022 drilling campaign.
Highlights:
· Focus on discovery through drilling of Tai prospect
· Drill location guided by Phase II seismic which has improved definition of the Tai structure and identified an untested closure
· Well Tai1/1A provided detailed information on reservoir and seal, and the identification of subsurface helium which proves a working helium system
· Due diligence and contract negotiations ongoing for a drilling rig located in East Africa
David Minchin, Helium One Global Chief Executive Officer, commented:
“We are delighted to be pressing ahead with our Phase II programme with a priority drill target identified. We are maintaining our focus on cost effective exploration with an emphasis on defining a discovery in 2022.
“Our decision to return to Tai has been driven by the interpretation of the Phase II 2D Seismic which, not only improved the definition of a robust structural closure in the Karoo Group, but also identified an untested closure in the Lake Bed Formation. Geological risk at Tai has been better understood from detailed stratigraphic data and the recognition of helium shows identified in the 2021 drilling campaign. With the highest chance of geological success and a robust closure at multiple stratigraphic levels, the Tai prospect gives us the best opportunity to make an economic discovery that unlocks the potential of the Rukwa helium province.
“With a drilling rig identified and contract negotiations ongoing we look forward to a successful exploration campaign in 2022.”
Tai Prospect
Helium One plans to commence 2022 Phase II exploration drilling operations at the Tai prospect which is the most advanced of all leads and prospects identified in the 3,448km2 Rukwa basin.
Management have been encouraged to select Tai as their primary target by new data taken from the Phase II 2D Seismic campaign acquired in November and December 2021 and processed in early 2022. This interpretation, which is now complete, has not only provided improved resolution over the Tai structural closure, but has also identified a newly defined closure in the Lake Beds which was not previously targeted.
Drilling at Tai is supported by stratigraphic information from the 2021 drilling campaign. QEMSCAN analysis on cuttings has provided information on reservoir distribution, mineralogy, seal potential and grain size of the entire sedimentary sequence at Tai-1/-1A, indicating good to excellent quality reservoir. It also confirms the presence of a thick claystone unit at the top of the Karoo Group as well as the presence of intraformational claystone and calcrete interbeds within the Lake Bed Formation.
The Tai prospect is further understood by the identification of multiple helium shows (helium identified in drilling mud) across all formations but which the Company was unable to log or test with wireline equipment. With a robust structural closure, detailed information on reservoir and seal, and the identification of subsurface helium which proves a working helium system, Tai is the lowest risk prospect in our current AOI of the Rukwa Basin for the Company to focus exploration expenditure with a primary objective of confirming a discovery in the 2022 campaign.
Drilling services
The Company is in detailed discussions with both a rig operator and service companies with the objective of drilling the Tai prospect in Q3/Q4 2022, before the commencement of the rainy season.
The Company has contacted an international drilling rig survey and inspection company to undertake a detailed audit of the proposed rig and its ancillary equipment on location in East Africa.
Further details, including the scope of the drilling program, will be provided once the audit is complete and the contract has been signed.
Phase III Exploration
Helium One is committed to ongoing exploration across all three licensed basins. Detailed 2D Seismic from Phase I and Phase II campaign covers less than 10% of the Rukwa license, with much of the basin remaining unexplored.
The Company is about to undertake a fieldwork programme in the Balangida Basin to ground truth helium seeps identified in recent multispectral satellite spectroscopy data. The Company is also in the process of purchasing high resolution airborne gravity gradiometery data across the Eyasi and Balangida basins with a view to continue its exploration focus with a maiden 2D seismic campaign targeted for Q4 2022.
Helium One Global (LON: HE1), the AIM-listed Tanzanian explorer, holds prospecting licences totalling more than 4,512km2 across three distinct project areas, with the potential to become a strategic player in resolving a supply-constrained helium market.
The Rukwa, Balangida, and Eyasi projects are located within rift basins on the margin of the Tanzanian Craton in the north and southwest of the country. The assets lie near surface seeps with helium concentrations ranging up to 10.6% He by volume. All Helium One’s licences are held on a 100% equity basis and are in close proximity to the required infrastructure.
The Company’s flagship Rukwa Project is located within the Rukwa Rift Basin covering 3,448km2 in south-west Tanzania. The project is considered to be an advanced exploration project with leads and prospects defined by a subsurface database including multispectral satellite spectroscopy, airborne gravity gradiometry, 2D seismic data, and QEMSCAN analysis. The Rukwa Project has been de-risked by the 2021 drilling campaign, which identified reservoir and seal with multiple prospective intervals from basin to near surface within a working helium system.
