Blue Star Helium Ltd (ASX:BNL) (OTCMKTS:AZZEF) has acquired large acreage across two of its hot prospects - Galactica and Pegasus - at a US Federal Government auction last Friday.
In addition, it is now waiting for the final regulatory approval before kicking off drilling a minimum of three wells and possibly up to five wells, in early 2021.
The company is also awaiting the results of an independent prospective resource review by Sproule of the Galactica and Pegasus prospects, which they have previously said rank on an equal footing with its first nominated target, Enterprise.
Incredibly active 2021
Blue Star managing director Joanne Kendrick said: “Blue Star is excited to acquire these additional leases including, in particular, those over our Galactica and Pegasus prospects where we expect to publish an independent resource report in January.
“We’re looking forward to an incredibly active 2021 with our recent A$6 million placement ensuring we are well-funded to deliver our maiden drilling campaign, as well as additional strategic leasing acquisitions.”
Lease acquisition
Blue Star acquired an additional 32,858 acres within the highly prospective Las Animas County region of Colorado taking its total leasehold position in the region to around 215,000 gross (160,000 net) acres.
The new leases were acquired for US$470,253.50 at the Federal Bureau of Land Management auction on December 17, 2020.
Maiden drilling
In mid-November, the Blue Star announced the expansion of its maiden drilling campaign to a minimum of three wells and up to five wells to test several prospects in its portfolio, in addition to Enterprise.
The US team has completed a further site visit to evaluate a potential follow-up location at Enterprise, as well as assess potential well locations at the Galactica, Pegasus, Voyager, and Galileo prospects, with permit applications to follow.
The maiden drilling campaign will begin after receipt of permit approvals, which are expected early in the new year.