NHE increases its landholdings by 59%

With a big helium drilling event slated for Q3 2023, our Investment Noble Helium (ASX: NHE) said yesterday that it had secured an additional 1,138km2 across 5 new prospecting licences - which represents ~59% growth in NHE’s landholdings.

Located around Lake Eyasi, here is where these licences sit in relation to NHE’s pre-existing licences in the Rukwa basin which is the primary focus of its exploration efforts:

NHE has measured helium at the 5 new licences in the Eyasi Basin’s hot springs and they return helium grades of up to 5.7%, compared with the US commercial cutoff of 0.3%.

This is why we think today’s news is important:

1. It secures further landholdings in “potentially the most prospective primary helium landholding globally”
2. As a result, it allows NHE to pursue another prospective helium resource estimate at Eyasi, to further cement its place as the leading pure-play helium exploration company in the world
3. It provides slightly different geological fundamentals for NHE to work with, different styles of targets, while still being amenable to the same exploration techniques (the North Rukwa project also has a lake in the middle of it)

Helium is needed for spacecraft (NASA and SpaceX use it) and yes, computer chips.

Among a range of high-tech applications, growth in helium demand from the space industry is expected to grow at a 10% clip each year through to 2026 and the chip industry demand will grow at more than 11% a year in the same time frame.

And if there’s one thing we know about tech - it’s that it usually surprises to the upside.

We think all of this bodes well for NHE’s Q3 2023 drilling event.

Today’s announcement means that NHE is more than half way to knocking down the following milestone set out in our NHE Investment Memo:

We have also updated our internal “Progress Tracker” document to reflect today's news.

Click here to see our Progress Tracker and that slide

What’s next for NHE? We’re very much looking forward to the commencement of the 3D seismic program in late September, which remains on track.