Royal Helium Ltd (TSX-V:RHC, OTCQB:RHCCF) said it has begun drilling its first well in the Val Marie field located in southwestern Saskatchewan near the Canada-US border.
Val Marie-1 is located on the southernmost of three large land blocks in the Val Marie field which encompasses 13,000 hectares of the Canadian portion of the Bowdoin Dome. Royal Helium contracted Stampede Drilling to drill the directional helium well located at 9-20-1-14W3 to a vertical depth of approximately 2,600 meters.
The company said it anticipates drilling operations will take approximately two weeks to be followed by a service rig to complete and test the well. Results will be announced as they are received, it added
In a statement, Shayne Neigum, Royal Helium's Well Operations manager commented: "Utilizing the newly acquired proprietary 2D seismic and trade seismic, historical maps, and offset wells in the area, the Royal exploration team is excited to test one of several prominent structural features at Val Marie which sits atop the Bowdoin Dome."
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"This large dome feature extends upward from northern Montana into Saskatchewan and is believed to be the major feeder system for inert gases found on both sides of the border. More recently, helium specific wells have been successfully drilled on the Montana side of the Bowdoin Dome. Royal's targets at Val Marie are several stacked zones in multiple horizons found within Devonian and Cambrian strata," he added.
Andrew Davidson, Royal Helium president, and CEO said: "Following on our success and continued development at Climax and Ogema, we are pleased to extend exploration to our third of 12 separate fields. The highly sought-after Val Marie ground was one of the first target areas we acquired and added to since 2016. Not only is the Bowdoin Dome known to host helium, but its proximity to the Climax project also makes this a highly prospective target field".
Royal Helium controls over 1,000,000 acres of prospective helium land in southwestern and south-east Saskatchewan. All of Royals' lands are in close vicinity to highways, roads, cities and importantly, close to existing oil and gas infrastructure, with a significant portion of its land in close proximity to existing helium-producing locations.
With stable, rising prices and limited, non-renewable sources for helium worldwide, the company intends to become a leading North American producer of this high-value commodity.
Contact the author at jon.hopkins@proactiveinvestors.com