REGINA, Sask. — The Government of Saskatchewan's second-ever helium and associated gases Crown public offering, held Sept. 1, raised $2.5 million, according to a Government of Saskatchewan news release issued Sept. 4.
All 13 permits put up for bidding were sold, the news release said. The permits covered a total area of 272,915 hectares, with 2743501 Alberta Ltd. placing the highest bid at $817,781 for a permit south of Lloydminster.
The Alberta-numbered corporation bid a total of $1,476,300 on five permits, covering an area of 82,499 hectares.
Millennium Lands Ltd. was the other successful bidder in the offering. The company bid $1,032,984 for eight permits, which cover a total area of 190,415 hectares.
The southeast and south-central regions accounted for nine of the bids, including $355,202 and $304,453 from Millenium for parcels south of Assiniboia. Other bids were in the Wapella, Kipling, Lampman, Endeavor, Porcupine Plain and Stoughton areas.
Elsewhere in the province, two bids were in the Wilkie region, and individual bids were in the Marsden and Leader areas.
“These results reflect continued industry interest in helium and natural hydrogen exploration, and potential further development, as well as a more cautious bidding environment, compared to the first public offering, which raised $15.9 million,” the government said.
The news release added increased demand for helium and natural hydrogen rights prompted the Ministry of Energy and Resources to launch a public offering system this fiscal year, similar to the system in place for Crown petroleum and natural gas, potash and brine lithium, which are also administered by the ministry.
The ministry expects to hold one final helium and associated gases public offering this fiscal year on Nov. 2. This will create another opportunity for companies to acquire helium and associated gases mineral rights.
According to the news release, Saskatchewan is Canada's largest helium producer, accounting for roughly three per cent of the world's supply. The gas is used as a coolant in key modern technologies in the medical, manufacturing, defence and space exploration sectors. The province also has geological occurrences of natural hydrogen, which has generated recent exploration interest and promising development opportunities.
