Pulsar Helium (PLSR: AIM) Topaz project in Minnesota has now been tested through a broader appraisal programme, with Jetstream 1 averaging 8.1% helium during flow testing and Jetstream 2 averaging 5.6%.
By June, Pulsar had also expanded its land position around Topaz to around 690 net mineral acres owned outright, together with approximately 4,941 net mineral acres held under lease. The story is therefore moving away from simply proving helium is present and towards deciding how a commercial field could actually be built.
That shift became clearer in July when Pulsar raised approximately US$25.5 million through a placing, subscription and retail offer, materially above the original US$20 million target. The money is intended to fund further production ready wells, flow testing, permitting, land work and long lead development equipment at Topaz. Pulsar’s latest quarterly results show that it had already spent around US$8 million on exploration and evaluation at the project during the nine months to 30th June. That level of spending illustrates how quickly the capital requirement rises once a discovery moves towards development.
The biggest step is the proposed processing infrastructure. In June, Pulsar signed a binding agreement reserving a helium purification and liquefaction plant and associated CO₂ processing equipment for potential deployment in Minnesota. The package is designed around helium liquefaction capacity of roughly 940 litres per hour, with the wider equipment package carrying an indicative cost of around US$78.7 million. Negotiations over the final purchase agreement are still ongoing, with the target date extended to 30th September while technical and commercial reviews are completed.
Pulsar is therefore entering the part of the development curve where geology is only one of the questions that matters. It must still drill and test additional production wells, complete permitting, finalise the processing package and secure the capital required to build out the project. First production is currently targeted for Q4 2027, leaving a meaningful execution gap between today’s appraisal success and future commercial sales. Topaz may be one of the stronger primary helium discoveries in the group, but the next stage is about proving that its geology can be converted into an economically viable production system.
