© Gold Hydrogen
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Natural hydrogen and helium exploration firm Gold Hydrogen plans to accelerate pilot helium production at its Ramsay project in South Australia, after completing flow testing across all three wells.
The company said the results confirmed an average 15.2% helium concentration across three wells spanning 2.2km, strengthening its plans to establish a helium production facility on the Yorke Peninsula.
Modelling conducted by the firm predicts of up to 37 mcf per day, above the 27 mcf per day scenario previously identified as potentially commercially viable by engineering firm Worley.
“These results strengthen the basis for advancing our commercial development planning,” said Managing Director Neil McDonald.
Gold Hydrogen is now advancing plans for a modular processing plant using membrane separation and pressure-swing adsorption technology to produce helium at 99% purity.
While it did not reveal a timeline for the plant, the company is targeting an independent assessment of the site’s potentially recoverable helium volumes in November.
McDonald said Australia’s current reliance on helium imports made for a supportive backdrop for developing the project.
“We believe Ramsay has the potential to become an important future source of domestic supply,” he said. “Our priority now is to translate that technical success into a credible development pathway.”
The Managing Director added that the company would continue to assess the site’s natural hydrogen potential. It previously reported hydrogen concentrations of up to at a test well, estimating the site’s capacity could reach up to 1.3 million tonnes of hydrogen and 96 bcf of helium.
