"Topaz project can make a significant contribution to global helium production"

Elon Musk likes to be photographed in public with his “Occupy Mars” T-shirt. However, his short-term goal is more likely to be “Occupy Orbit”. With Starlink, the tech billionaire is in the process of installing a global network of satellites and occupying the leading role in the future global communications infrastructure, ideally with X as the “world MAGA phone”. The global “race to space” is in full swing, as evidenced not least by the stormy performance of shares in the space logistics sector, such as Rocket Lab (NASD: RKLB), ASTS Space Mobile (NASD: ASTS) and Intuitive Machines (NASD: LUNR).

Since the beginning of the year alone (i.e. from January 1 to January 13, 2025), five rockets have already been launched into orbit worldwide and the intervals between launches are getting shorter and shorter. Musk has announced that he wants to launch 10 rockets a day into the sky by 2027. But just as AI requires a lot of additional electricity and is even contributing to a renaissance of nuclear power, rocket launches require a raw material that is becoming increasingly scarce in the USA: the noble gas helium.

There is no substitute for this inert gas when it comes to pushing rocket fuel from the tanks into the engines. It is estimated that helium worth USD 1 million is consumed per launch. That may not seem like much on its own, but it adds up. It is safe to say that rocket launches are the area in which the demand for helium is growing fastest worldwide. The problem is that this additional demand competes with other technical applications where helium is also essential, such as MRI technology in medicine, semiconductor chip manufacturing and science. The consensus among leading experts who met in Houston, Texas, at the end of last year for the annual Helium Super Summit was that the USA will become a net importer of helium in the next few years after being the largest exporter for decades. Whether this foreseeable increase in dependence on Qatar or even Russia should be allowed to happen is ultimately a political question. However, one can be sure that the USA (and SpaceX) would welcome it if a new, significant source of helium were to be found in their own country.

Quelle: Pulsar Helium

As luck would have it, this could now be the case – and in a place that no expert had on their radar. The new helium discovery was made in Minnesota of all places, where, unlike Texas or Arizona, there is no oil or gas industry. On its Topaz project, the Canadian-British helium company Pulsar Helium (TSXV: PLSR; LON: PLSR; FRA: Y3K) had already announced a significant discovery with world-class helium contents of 14.5 percent around a year ago. Unfortunately, after overcoming the 500-meter-thick cap rock, the first drill hole had only penetrated around 170 meters into the actual helium-bearing target rock, while the geological measurement data suggested that the helium-bearing layers could extend more than five times deeper. Until today, this was just a concept, but now Pulsar has proven this geological hypothesis.

Unfortunately for its shareholders, it took the company almost a full year to follow up Jetstream #1 with the deeper drilling. However, the first new results are all the more promising. The existing borehole was deepened from 670 meters (2,200 feet) to 1,550 meters (5,100 feet). It is now clear that further strong helium layers exist down to the bottom of the borehole. The entire helium zone now has a vertical extent of around 1,000 meters, instead of the previous 170 meters. In the coming weeks, Pulsar intends to determine the exact helium content through precise measurements and measure the gas pressure in a long-term flow test.

Inspired by the new success, Pulsar has announced that it will drill a second well, “Jetstream #2”, at the same target depth within a few hundred meters of Jetstream #1. The company intends to secure the necessary financing for this in an ongoing equity round of USD 7.5 million with investors from the USA. According to a recent press release, USD 2 million has already been received from this round, with the subscribers having committed to a one-year holding period.

CEO Thomas Abraham James is already confident: “The deepening of the Jetstream #1 well has been a resounding success, exceeding our expectations and reinforcing our confidence in the potential of the Topaz project. The extended reservoir depth and encouraging helium readings are a testament to the quality of our geologic model and the expertise of our team. As we move forward with Jetstream #2 and additional testing, we are increasingly optimistic that the project can make a significant contribution to the global helium supply chain. This success not only validates our exploration strategy, but also positions Pulsar Helium as a key player in meeting the critical demand for helium in various high-tech industries.”

The bold prediction that the “Topaz project can make a significant contribution to global helium production in the future” is one that the CEO will probably have considered carefully. In order to assess why this self-confidence might be justified, we would like to address some basic facts about the underestimated topic of helium, which should help to better understand the significance of the discovery in Minnesota (and for Minnesota). To say it up front, our thesis is that this discovery could make Minnesota the linchpin of the future helium supply for American industry. There are reasons for this that can only be understood if we go a little further.

Let’s start with the sun: every second, around 600 million tons of hydrogen fuse into 596 million tons of helium, and the difference in mass of 4 million tons is released as energy and ensures that ‘the sun shines’.

The conditions on Earth are diametrically different. On our metal planet there are only the tiniest traces of helium (due to a lack of fusion). However, helium is formed again and again over very long periods of time on Earth through the decay of heavy, radioactive elements, especially uranium and thorium. Science calls this process alpha decay and the alpha particles released are nothing other than helium nuclei with two protons and two neutrons. Important general conclusions for helium exploration can be derived from this fact: There must, firstly, be a radioactive source where alpha decay occurs. Secondly, it is advantageous if the helium can concentrate over as long a period as possible and does not escape to the surface, for example due to tectonic events (earthquakes). Basically, it can be said that the older and undisturbed a helium deposit is, the better.

However, most helium is extracted as a by-product of natural gas production and then separated. For Qatar, a helium content of just 0.04% is enough to make it one of the leading exporters of helium. The low concentration is sufficient because large quantities of natural gas are liquefied into LNG. However, the corresponding plants are very capital-intensive. In the USA, Texas and Arizona are currently (still) the leaders in helium production. The helium concentrations here are higher than in Qatar, but the deposits are also much smaller. For almost 100 years, the USA had a strategic helium reserve in Texas. This reserve, actually just a former natural gas reservoir that was filled with 60 percent raw helium, has not existed for several years. Since then, the USA has been living in a kind of “helium ad hoc economy” with correspondingly more volatile prices.

With this knowledge, the significance of Pulsar’s helium discovery in Minnesota is revealed in a new light. Not only does the discovery come at the most opportune moment possible, but its significance lies above all in the fact that it does not fit the familiar grid. It is a primary helium discovery without fossil natural gas. This has to do with the completely different geology in Minnesota. The US state hosts home to some of the oldest rocks on earth after Greenland and Australia. At the Topaz project, this old and impenetrable seal is 500 meters thick. This cover has apparently prevented the gas formed underneath (more precisely a mixture of helium and CO2) from escaping. At the same time, the extremely long geological periods provide the perfect conditions for the high helium concentrations that Pulsar has measured so far. As high helium contents and high pressure have now been confirmed in Jetstream #1 vertically over a section of 1,000 meters, this discovery differs categorically from natural gas-helium deposits in Texas, for example, where the target zones were formed by sedimentary processes associated with the deposition of fossil plant remains. The helium deposits in Minnesota do not have a sedimentary origin and could therefore be of a completely different caliber. Pulsar Helium now wants to drill a second well just a few hundred meters away from Jetstream #1. If Jetstream #2 confirms the geological assumptions in a similar way to the first well, even sceptics will probably recognize the special nature of the helium discovery in Minnesota. When asked whether Minnesota could become the Saudi Arabia of helium, the Pulsar CEO already has a quick-witted answer at the ready: “Saudi Arabia wishes to be the Minnesota of helium”.

We will continue to follow the news from Pulsar Helium on its Topaz project closely. Perhaps at some point even the space investors community will recognize the importance of this topic.

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According to §34b WpHG and § 48f Abs. 5 BörseG (Austria) we would like to point out that GOLDINVEST Consulting GmbH and/or partners, principals or employees of GOLDINVEST Consulting GmbH hold shares of Pulsar Helium and therefore a conflict of interest exists. GOLDINVEST Consulting GmbH also reserves the right to buy or sell shares of Pulsar Helium at any time, which could influence the price of the shares. In addition, a consulting or other service contract existed between Pulsar Helium and GOLDINVEST Consulting GmbH, which means a further conflict of interest existed, since Pulsar Helium remunerated GOLDINVEST Consulting GmbH for reporting on its progress.

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