Prospectors have stumbled upon a gas well of helium in the Free State.
Popularly known for birthday balloons and squeaky voices, helium plays a role in medical scanners, superconductors and space travel.
It’s also produced in fewer than 10 countries and is often treated as a waste product in natural gas wells.
Stefano Marani and Nick Mitchell bought gas rights on an 87,000-hectare piece of land in the Free State in 2012 for $1.
Their company, Renergen, is almost ready to start producing both natural gas and helium from reserves that could be the richest and cleanest in the world.
Initial tests revealed helium concentrations of 2% to 4%. In the USA concentrations are as low as 0.3%. Further exploration found concentrations as high as 12%.
The global helium market was worth $10.6 billion in 2019. Since few countries produce helium, supplies are frequently disrupted.
Renergen estimates its reserve could be as much as 9.74 billion cubic metres – larger than the known reserves in the USA – which could be worth over $100 billion.
Natural gas is often obtained by fracking, which involves splitting rock. Marani says “Our rock has already cracked, there’s a giant fracture underground. And so when we drill, we’re literally drilling just into that giant fracture where the gas is and then the gas escapes naturally with no stimulation at all.”
Renergen will have 19 wells installed by early 2022. Eventually the plant will process liquefied natural gas for domestic use and liquid helium for export.
Demand and prices for helium have more than doubled over the last 30 years. As the uses for helium multiply, nations want to secure a steady supply.
Production could rise to five tonnes daily – roughly 7% of the planet’s current helium production. Marani says “It’s quite meaningful by global standards.”