Helium was first observed during the 1868 solar eclipse as a dark adsorption line in the spectrum of the sun. Originally assumed to be a solar metal, it was given the name “helium” from the Greek word for the sun, “helios.” Although the element was also recognized in the spectrum of the gases emitted by Mount Vesuvius in 1882, it was not until 1889 during experiments conducted by William F. Hillebrand, that a sample of helium gas was finally obtained from uraninite. The experiments were repeated, at Uppsala by Per Teodor Cleve and Nils Abraham Langer in 1895, leading to a measurement of helium’s atomic weight.
Helium is a monatomic gas at temperatures above 4 degrees Kelvin. With an atomic number of 2 and an atomic mass of 4 (or more rarely, 3), it has the smallest atomic radius of any element, 31 picometers. Helium is the second most abundant element in the universe after hydrogen, but it is exceedingly rare on Earth; the atmosphere contains approximately 5.2 parts per million, the Earth’s crust approximately 8 parts per billion and seawater approximately 4 parts per trillion. Despite the rarity of helium on Earth, it is in some places concentrated. Natural gas deposits commonly contain trace amounts of helium in the parts per million, yet a few are known to contain up to 10-percent helium.
See Figure: Major helium bearing natural gas fields in the United States. Courtesy of USGS.
From Commoditization to Crisis
It was the accidental discovery of one such helium-rich natural gas accumulation at Dexter in Kansas, in 1903 that started the Unites States’ helium boom. Little more than a novelty when first discovered, helium has become a key commodity. It is used extensively in medical cryogenics (particularly in magnetic-resonance imaging machines), analytical and lab applications, breathing mixtures, as a lift gas, for arc welding, leak detection and, contrary to popular belief, only a little (less than 10 percent) is used to inflate party balloons. There are few substitutes for helium and so, as its applications have become more common, demand has grown and supply is struggling to match demand.
The discovery at Dexter, followed by others in the Midwest, has allowed the United States to dominate the helium market since it began. However, new discoveries have not replaced the volume of helium used, and recycling is rarely possible. Helium will inevitably leak from any container due to its small atomic radius. Once free, it is lost to outer space – it is not confined to Earth by gravity.
While the United States’ dominance of the helium market has declined, that of Algeria, Russia and, in particular, Qatar has risen as they too began discovering helium-bearing natural gases. Only 0.3 percent helium in a natural gas deposit will render helium the most valuable component. However, for one particular field, extracting the helium present at 0.04 percent concentration has proven economically feasible.
Many would regard this diversification of helium production as beneficial, but experience is already demonstrating that such diversification has not eased security of supply issues. From 2010 onward, several warnings about a helium supply crisis have been issued. These led cryogenics companies to issue supply curtailment notices to industrial and academic customers. It is easy to imagine the knock-on effects of this and, while few may worry about limiting the supply of party balloons, restrictions on use of medical scanners because of helium shortages could have fatal consequences.
From Accidental Discovery to Exploration
It is against this complex backdrop that we decided to find a new helium province. Initially, we were astonished to discover that there was no existing helium exploration strategy. The choices available were either drilling adjacent to a known helium accumulation, or fortuitously discovering economic concentrations of helium while exploring for petroleum.
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