Bluejay Mining – Hydrogen and Helium Discovered at Outokumpu Finland.
Bluejay Mining plc (‘Bluejay‘ or the ‘Company‘), the AIM, FSE listed and Pink-Market traded exploration and development company with projects in Greenland and Finland, is pleased to announce, following a systematic review, the previously unrecognized presence of high concentrations of helium and hydrogen gases at its wholly owned Outokumpu Project, in Finland (‘Outokumpu’). Independent studies associated with deep drilling results by the Geological Survey of Finland (‘GTK’) (‘Outokumpu Deep Drillhole’), identified significant potential for these gases, particularly within serpentinized ophiolites and associated geological formations, in the region (‘Outokumpu Belt’).
Highlights
· Systematic review of historical government drilling has indicated the presence of substantial industrial gas including helium and white hydrogen concentrations within the Outokumpu Belt.
· Best intersection recorded was of 100m at 5.6% helium (within an intersection of 1500m, at 1.5% helium).
· Deposit is comparable in formation and structure to the world’s largest known deposit of white (or geological) hydrogen (‘White Hydrogen’), which was recently discovered in France, with estimates suggesting up to 46 million tonnes of the carbon-neutral fuel in the French deposit. This newly discovered gas province is located in the Lorraine region, a French mining region similar in nature geologically to the Outokumpu Belt.
· Gas sampling from the Outokumpu Deep Drillhole, which reached a total depth of 2480 meters, revealed high concentrations of other naturally forming industrial gasses such as argon, xenon, krypton, White Hydrogen and helium (with hydrogen being the dominant gas) returning results up to 46% hydrogen in gas samples taken from various saline groundwater samples.
· The Outokumpu Belt’s unique geological composition, including serpentinized ophiolites and pegmatitic granites, hosts multiple potential sources for the generation of White Hydrogen and helium gases. Bluejay, through its wholly-owned subsidiary FinnAust, has exploration permits covering this gas-rich ophiolite belt.
· Over 2000 historical drillholes, some exceeding depths of 1000 meters, provide a comprehensive foundation to fast-track the assessment of subsurface industrial gas across the Outokumpu Belt.
· Current exploration licenses include gas exploration, ensuring a streamlined regulatory pathway. White Hydrogen can be produced at a fraction of the cost of “Green” Hydrogen (produced using wind and solar power), that could then potentially be integrated into Finland’s goal to enhance energy security within a circular economy.
The Company will now begin to systematically assess historical drillholes for the most prospective occurrences of industrial gasses including hydrogen and helium with a view to re-entering these holes to undertake further testing using modern, more accurate, equipment. Re-entering historical drillholes offers a considerable cost savings in comparison to new drilling, and virtually eliminates the programs environmental impact. These findings will be compared with historical and newly acquired seismic data to identify areas with the highest potential.
Eric Sondergaard, Managing Director, commented:
The preliminary indications of hydrogen and helium within the Outokumpu Belt are highly encouraging and present a transformative, organic low-cost opportunity for Bluejay shareholders.
“Leveraging our historical exploration data and collaborating with geological experts and regulatory authorities, we aim to unlock significant value from these potential industrial gas resources. This initiative not only diversifies our resource portfolio but also positions us at the forefront of the geological hydrogen/helium movement in Finland. This announcement also fully aligns with our expansion of corporate strategy to include the exploration for and development of industrial gasses, and illustrates our commitment to maximize shareholder value.
In addition, the Company is exploring a number of state-sponsored funding mechanisms that may lead to investment by the EU to fast track the development of any potential gas deposits, however, nothing has been confirmed at this time in terms of the potential prospective gas volumes, level of funding available, or timeline.”
Qualified Person
The scientific and technical disclosure included in this announcement has been reviewed and approved by Roderick McIllree, a director of Bluejay Mining plc, who is also a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (FAusIMM). Mr. McIllree has sufficient experience, relevant to the styles of mineralisation and type of deposits under consideration and to the activity that he is undertaking, to qualify as a Qualified Person (‘QP’) as defined by the AIM rules, and for the purposes of The Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves. Mr. McIllree has reviewed this press release and consents to the inclusion in the press release of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which this appears.
Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure
The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 (‘MAR’) which has been incorporated into UK law by the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018.
READ the latest news shaping the hydrogen market at Hydrogen Central
Bluejay Mining – Hydrogen and Helium Discovered at Outokumpu Finland. source
