Imperial Helium Corp (TSXV:IHC) has been granted approval by Alberta to commence drilling operations and has started lease and road construction at its Steveville Helium Property in the Canadian province. The company is partly (1.25%) owned by London-listed mining project generator Cloudbreak Discovery (LSE:CDL).
Imperial Helium said that it planned to drill to a depth of 2047m to confirm helium concentrations and flow rates. The objective of the first well is to confirm helium concentrations and flow rates established during the historic blow-out that occurred in 1940.
“With the achievement of this first milestone, the Company is well positioned to complete production testing and an independent resource assessment of the Steveville asset during the fourth quarter of 2021,” said CEO David Johnson.
Imperial Helium’s Steveville property is situated over a large basement dome feature with four-way closure. The property is approximately 200km east of Calgary and 40km northeast of Brooks where highways 544/876 cross the structure, providing easy access for drilling and development.
The property includes land leased from Heritage Royalty Resource Corporation covering 24,635 hectares (95 square miles), with rights for natural gas (including helium).
Listen: Podcast with Kyler Hardy, CEO of Cloudbreak Discovery
The Steveville Blow-out of 1940
In the winter of 1940, the first deep well to be drilled in the area was 13-22-020-12W4, which, owing to a mechanical failure on surface, resulted in the Steveville Blow-out. The blow-out is estimated to have flowed at 50 MMcf/d for 100 days.
After the well was brought under control, drilling resumed followed by production testing which came in at six million cubic feet a day (6MMCf/d) of non-burnable gas (87% nitrogen 0.63% helium). Subsequent wells 14-11-020-11W4 (1953), 16-11-020-12W4 (1974), and 01-24-020-11W4 (2002) confirm the structure.
Imperial Helium has acquired seismic data to provide an improved understanding of the basement structure and select drilling locations. The company listed on the TSXV on 20 May of this year.
Cloudbreak Discovery: listed and unlisted project stakes
Imperial Helium is one of the holdings within Cloudbreak Discovery. Listed in London, Cloudbreak Discovery owns a range of listed and unlisted stakes in projects where its management team see value. It draws on partner balance sheets and technical teams to help bring projects to fruition. It has already realised $23m in value from $2m in project investments.Cloudbreak Discovery looks to monetise assets through a variety of routes, including partnerships and asset sales (e.g. seeking equity positions, cash or milestone payments). This can also include retained royalty agreements.
Imperial Helium is just one of a number of project assets in the Cloudbreak Discovery portfolio. At time of writing these are all in Canada with the exception of Anglo-African in Guinea. Other projects include an equity position and royalty agreements in place with TSX-V-listed Norseman Silver Corp (NOC) including a 14.5% holding, which is a silver and copper exploration play in Canada.
It also has a stake in Deep Blue Trading, shortly to be listed in Canada, which is looking at epithermal gold prospects. Then there is Buscando Resources which is in the business of advancing gold exploration projects in Canada.
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