Gold Hydrogen plans to produce helium in Australia within 18 months — ABC News Australia

Gold Hydrogen has announced plans to establish commercial helium production at the Ramsay 1 site near Port Vincent on the Yorke Peninsula in Australia. The facility is planned to be launched within 18 months, ABC News Australia reports.

Modular plant

Gold Hydrogen extracted helium at Ramsay 1 for the first time three months ago. Before commercial operations begin, the company must conduct additional testing and obtain the necessary permits. The company’s managing director, Neil McDonald, said the results of the assessment of the deposit’s geology and the project’s economics give grounds for optimism.

As part of the commercialisation process, Gold Hydrogen plans to build a modular helium plant approximately the size of two tennis courts. It is to be located within the company’s 75,000-square-kilometre exploration area on the Yorke Peninsula. According to McDonald, the project is expected to create new jobs, although the specific staffing needs will still be determined during the feasibility assessment.

More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.

Resource and sales markets

Australia has not produced helium since 2023, when the Santos Darwin LNG plant exhausted its own gas reserves. Against the backdrop of a global shortage, Gold Hydrogen expects to supply the Australian market first and foremost, but is also considering international deliveries.

According to the company’s estimate, the total volume of helium at one of its seven permits amounts to 41 billion cubic feet. McDonald noted that global consumption is approximately 5 billion cubic feet a year, and that, in his view, the resource on the Yorke Peninsula could be sufficient for decades of supplies to domestic and foreign markets.