BABBITT- An exploratory borehole made history last week with potentially the richest helium discovery on earth. Pulsar Helium Inc. announced Feb. 28, that its Jetstream #1 borehole reached a total depth of 2,200 ft. On the way down, the drill rig encountered helium gas ratios of 12.4 percent, which are thought to be the highest ever encountered from an underground source anywhere in the world. Because of the large amount of air used in drilling the hole, Pulsar said that this ratio was a minimum because of dilution, which means the discovery may be even richer than the preliminary results.
“This is an outstanding result,” said Thomas Abraham-James, Pulsar’s President and CEO. “I am delighted that helium has been identified in the Jetstream #1 appraisal well. It is a big day for helium exploration, confirming the original discovery in the new jurisdiction of Minnesota. I look forward to keeping the market updated with further results as they are received.”
The depths at which the helium gas was first encountered won’t be known for certain until the contractor Baker Hughes completes analysis of drilling logs it created during the drilling operations. The drilling was halted 50 feet short of the company’s planned depth of 2,250 feet because of the imminent start of spring load restrictions due to the extraordinarily mild winter conditions this year.
Once the logging program is completed, the company will install a well-testing rig, including flow testing and pressure build-up testing. In addition, the company will collect pressurized gas samples for laboratory analysis when road conditions allow heavy traffic to return.
The gas compositions were measured by the independent surface logging team using their on-site quadrupole mass spectrometer. Isotube gas samples have been taken from the mass spectrometer at the various intervals where gas appeared, and those samples will be shipped to a specialist gas laboratory for full molecular composition, removal of atmospheric (air) contamination, and isotopic characterization.
The geology was consistent throughout the borehole, interchanging troctolite/anorthosite, both of which are mafic igneous rocks with intermittent fractures.