DAR STRIKES NEW GAS: HELIUM IN RUKWA

EXPLORATION of Helium gas in Lake Rukwa in Southern Tanzania is expected to start next year, the Deputy Minister for Energy and Minerals, Dr Medard Kalemani, told the National Assembly yesterday.

Helium is a colourless, odourless, tasteless, non-toxic, inert, monoatomic gas, the first in the ‘noble gas’ group in the periodic table. Its boiling point is the lowest among all the elements.

After hydrogen, Helium is the second lightest and second most abundant element, being present at about 24 per cent of the total elemental mass, which is more than 12 times the mass of all the heavier elements combined.

He revealed that such exploration of the gas would start immediately after feasibility study, evaluation of environmental impact, discovery of actual amount of gas and issuance of licence.

The deputy minister said that huge deposits of helium gas was discovered along the lake by Helium One Limited and preliminary information suggests that there was estimation of 54 billion cubic feet of such gas along the Lake.

Such results, according to the deputy minister, followed five sampling of Gas Seeps of Helium Gas at the area, an amount which is described to be huge six times the requirements of the current world.Dr Kalemani was answering a question by Ignas Malocha (Kwela-CCM), who had explained that the government had confirmed the discovery of Helium gas at Lake Rukwa and that such gas was so valuable and rare gas in the world.

The MP, therefore, wanted to know when the government would start the exploration works to enable Tanzanians become the first to benefit before another discovery is made elsewhere. Dr Kalemani responded that Helium One Limited did such discovery through its subsidiary companies of Gogota (TZ) Limited, Njozi (TZ) Limited and Stahimili (TZ) Limited, who hold licences of discovery of the gas in Rukwa Region.

He disclosed that such companies were licensed in 2015, adding that extensive exploratory processes were still underway -- through collection of geology, geo-chemistry, geo-physics and 2D Seismic survey information.

Such information, the deputy minister said, would be used during the exploratory well research. This assignment, he said, would help identify the actual amount of helium gas available at the areas.

Source: DailyNews