Helium Discovery In Northern Minnesota May Be Biggest Ever In North America

An anonymous reader quotes a report from CBS News: Scientists and researchers are celebrating what they call a 'dream' discovery after an exploratory drill confirmed a high concentration of helium buried deep in Minnesota's Iron Range. Thomas Abraham-James, CEO of Pulsar Helium, said the confirmed presence of helium could be one of the most significant such finds in the world. CBS News Minnesota toured the drill site soon after the drill rig first broke ground at the beginning of February. The discovery happened more than three weeks later at about 2 a.m. Thursday, as a drill reached its depth of 2,200 feet below the surface. According to Abraham-James, the helium concentration was measured at 12.4%, which is higher than forecasted and roughly 30 times the industry standard for commercial helium. '12.4% is just a dream. It's perfect,' he said.

Now that helium is confirmed to be underground in Babbitt, Abraham-James said the next phase of the project is a feasibility study by an independent third party to study the size of the well and whether it could support a full-service helium plant. 'It's not just about drilling one hole, but now proving up the geological models, being able to get some really good data that wasn't captured in the original discovery,' he explained. 'It has the potential to really contribute to local society.' The company said the feasibility study could take until the end of the year to complete.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.