Helium One secures mining licence for Southern Rukwa
By Josh White
Date: Friday 18 Jul 2025
(Sharecast News) - Helium One announced on Friday that it has formally secured a mining licence for its Southern Rukwa project in Tanzania, and unveiled plans to raise £10m through an investment agreement with institutional investors to fund its development activities in both Tanzania and the United States.
The AIM-traded company said the licence award was a key milestone for the Southern Rukwa project, where further testing was expected to begin in the fourth quarter.
It said the new funding would also support progress at the Galactica-Pegasus helium and carbon dioxide development project in Colorado, which was targeting first gas by the end of the year.
"At present, Helium One is a non-revenue generative business, but we are in the unique position of having interests in two significant helium development projects," said chairman James Smith.
"This raise is an important step for the company and will enable us to accelerate both these projects towards production and ultimately cash flow."
Under the terms of the investment agreement arranged by Marex Financial, three institutional investors would provide £10m ($13m) via an advance that could be converted into ordinary shares at a discount to the prevailing market price.
A retail offer of up to £1m was also planned, to give existing shareholders the opportunity to participate on the same terms.
"With the mining licence now formally awarded, we're looking forward to progressing further testing using a downhole electric submersible pump," commented chief executive officer Lorna Blaisse.
"This important step will enable the company to better understand the concentrations of helium in this unique helium play and further establish multi-rate flow tests, bringing us closer to finalising the development plan."
Helium One said it would re-enter the ITW-1 well at Southern Rukwa using an electric submersible pump to conduct flow tests on the Karoo and Basement intervals.
The firm expected the programme to improve its understanding of reservoir quality and flow rates as it moved toward finalising development and processing plans.
Proceeds from the fundraise would be allocated across the Tanzania and US projects, with £4m earmarked for the ESP work programme in Southern Rukwa, £1m for licence fees and general and administrative costs, and £4.5m for the Galactica development.
The funding was subject to shareholder approval at a general meeting scheduled for 5 August.
Helium One said the retail offer, which was also contingent on approval at the general meeting, was expected to be launched shortly thereafter.
At 1604 BST, shares in Helium One were down 2.15% at 0.91p.
Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.
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