It might (or might not… you’re all quite smart) surprise you to learn that helium does more than make your party balloons float – and your voice go high.
This non-renewable resource is essential to several key industries, including:
- Industrial Applications – welding and metal fabrication
- Electronics – semiconductors, fibre optic cables, and LCD screens
- Medical Applications – MRI machines and respiratory treatments
- Scientific Research – superconductivity, superfluidity, and the structure & behaviour of molecules
Source: Visual Capitalist
What makes helium so special, you might ask? Well, helium is the second lightest element, and it has a number of unique qualities that make it both essential and impossible to replace.
- Non-reactivity – safe to use in a variety of applications where other elements reactivity could be harmful or ineffective
- Low Boiling Point – can remain a gas at extremely low temperatures, making it useful in low-temperature applications
- Low-density – can lift objects such as balloons! Or, more importantly, airships
- High Thermal Conductivity – can transfer heat quickly and efficiently, making it useful in scientific applications
Source: Visual Capitalist
Because of these unique properties, everything from televisions to MRI machines rely on helium to operate effectively, yet this valuable element is rapidly disappearing here on earth.
In 2017, over 1.5B cubic feet of helium were consumed in the U.S. alone, and this figure has since grown year over year. The scarcity of helium combined with its valuable properties has made it a highly sought-after resource.
Helium exploration: who will lighten the load?
With such high demand and such low supply, we’re seeing the price of helium increase by 135%, making it an optimal time for explorers to look for viable production opportunities.
Desert Mountain Energy Corp. is one such company at the forefront of helium exploration, focusing their efforts on the Holbrook Basin in North East Arizona, which is considered to have the world’s best helium. The company has access to +100,000 acres of land within this region, and is implementing innovative drilling techniques to effectively access the high-grade helium reserves that the region is known for.
As a forward-looking resource company, Desert Mountain was recently ranked as a top performer on The 2023 Venture 50 thanks to its strong performance on the TSX Venture Exchange in 2022.
Desert Mountain is among the early movers in this space who will be well positioned to provide essential helium solutions to meet an essential demand.
Source: Visual Capitalist
I hope you found this explanation of why we need to shift our focus to helium in the very near (if not already present) future useful.
Fun Fact: helium is actually the second most abundant element in the universe – but NASA’s looking into it and it isn’t very economically viable to create a helium pipeline from space to earth… maybe one day though?
For now, we’ve got to work with what we’ve got here on earth, and we’re grateful for the forward-looking companies, such as Desert Mountain, that are exploring for solutions before things get out of hand.
As always, I’d love to hear from you:
- What are your thoughts on helium?
- Do you think 2023 is the year to invest?
- Have you invested in helium?
- Are there any companies on your helium watch list?
- What does the future hold for helium?
Disclaimer: The content of this article is for information only. Nothing contained herein is a recommendation or a solicitation to buy or sell any security. Desert Mountain Energy is a social media client of SmallCap Communications, and did not request or pay for this piece to be written. I do not own shares or have stock options in Desert Mountain Energy.
