BABBITT — A company looking for helium beneath Northeastern Minnesota’s forest floor said it found the lightweight gas this week, confirming an earlier 2011 finding.
In a news release Thursday, Feb. 29, British Columbia-based Pulsar Helium said its drilling rig encountered gases with a 12.4% helium concentration at depths of 1,750 and 2,200 feet. The concentration was measured with an on-site mass spectrometer. The collected gas samples will be sent to a laboratory for “full molecular composition, removal of atmospheric (air) contamination, and isotopic characterization,” the company said.
Gary Meader / Duluth Media Group
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Pulsar Helium President and CEO Thomas Abraham-James called the initial findings “an outstanding result.”
“It is a big day for helium exploration, confirming the original discovery in the new jurisdiction of Minnesota. I look forward to keeping the market updated with further results as they are received,” Abraham-James said in the release.
The drill site, called the Topez Project, is located 9 miles down the graveled Dunka River Road — riddled with potholes and tire ruts amid an unusually warm winter — as well as Cleveland-Cliffs’ Peter Mitchell Mine and the unincorporated community of Isabella.
The
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company began drilling earlier this month
and had planned to drill another 50 feet down to a depth of 2,250 feet, but abnormally warm temperatures and looming road weight restrictions have forced the company to stop early and dismantle the Wyoming drilling rig, which is usually used for oil and gas drilling.
Crews plan to install a well-testing device on the borehole to take additional samples and conduct more tests when road conditions allow.
Workers at Pulsar Helium’s drill site between Babbitt and Isabella on Feb. 5.
Wyatt Buckner / 2024 file / Duluth Media Group
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Helium was first found at the site in 2011
when a drill crew from Duluth Metals, a precursor to copper-nickel mining company Twin Metals, was searching for platinum-palladium minerals in the Bald Eagle Intrusion. A borehole instead hit a pocket of gas that tests showed contained 10.5% helium — the second-highest concentration found in North America — with the remainder carbon dioxide and nitrogen.
Anything above 0.3% is considered of economic interest.
Helium is often a byproduct of the oil and natural gas industry, but the Minnesota find could provide a hydrocarbon-free source of the element when there is otherwise a shortage of the gas. Pulsar has said it wants to install a production well on-site if conditions are right, but Minnesota would likely need new regulations overseeing it.
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Helium is highly sought after for being very nonreactive and can be a lightweight gas or take a liquid form near absolute zero to cool equipment. It’s used in everything from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines, semiconductor manufacturing and leak testing, to air tanks for medical patients and deep-sea divers, to the aerospace and defense industries.
Helium forms as radioactive elements uranium and thorium decay deep in the earth. It then moves up through fissures and gets trapped in pockets closer to the surface.
And thanks to the Midcontinent Rift, which formed 1.1 billion years ago as North America tried to pull itself apart, sending magma up and leaving behind deposits of copper, nickel and other metals in areas like Minnesota’s Duluth Complex and Tamarack Intrusion, there are plenty of fissures for that helium to take.
While this is the first helium discovery in Minnesota and the Duluth Complex, Pulsar officials believe the geology of the Bald Eagle Intrusion could contain more helium pockets.
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Jimmy Lovrien covers mining, energy, climate, social issues and higher education for the Duluth News Tribune. He can be reached at jlovrien@duluthnews.com or 218-723-5332.
New York Knicks (16-10, third in the Eastern Conference) vs. Minnesota Timberwolves (14-11, seventh in the Western Conference)
Minneapolis; Thursday, 9:30 p.m. EST
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BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Timberwolves -2; over/under is 213.5
BOTTOM LINE: New York hits the road against Minnesota trying to prolong its three-game road winning streak.
The Timberwolves are 8-4 in home games. Minnesota is eighth in the Western Conference with 33.3 defensive rebounds per game led by Rudy Gobert averaging 7.6.
The Knicks have gone 8-6 away from home. New York ranks fifth in the Eastern Conference with 27.7 assists per game led by Jalen Brunson averaging 7.7.
The Timberwolves are shooting 45.9% from the field this season, 0.3 percentage points lower than the 46.2% the Knicks allow to opponents. The Knicks average 14.2 made 3-pointers per game this season, 2.6 more made shots on average than the 11.6 per game the Timberwolves allow.
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TOP PERFORMERS: Anthony Edwards is averaging 26.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.8 assists for the Timberwolves.
Karl-Anthony Towns is scoring 24.8 points per game with 13.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists for the Knicks.
LAST 10 GAMES: Timberwolves: 6-4, averaging 104.6 points, 46.2 rebounds, 25.0 assists, 9.4 steals and 4.9 blocks per game while shooting 44.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 97.4 points per game.
Knicks: 7-3, averaging 114.6 points, 42.7 rebounds, 28.0 assists, 7.8 steals and 5.5 blocks per game while shooting 49.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 106.4 points.
INJURIES: Timberwolves: Joe Ingles: day to day (soleus).
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Knicks: Ariel Hukporti: day to day (ankle), Mitchell Robinson: out (ankle).
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
The bald eagle could soon become the national bird of the United States after a bill backed by Minnesota legislators passed the U.S. House on Monday. The bill earlier passed the Senate, and now awaits the signature of President Joe Biden.
You’d be forgiven for thinking the bald eagle already held the title of national bird. The bald eagle is on the national seal and has been a symbol of the U.S. since the country’s founding. But the U.S. has not had an official national bird.
Minnesota lawmakers introduced a bill to change that. Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith helped lead the bill in the Senate, where it passed with bipartisan support in July.
“The bald eagle is a symbol of our country’s freedom and strength,” Klobuchar said in a statement. “With the passage of our legislation, the bald eagle will now officially be recognized as our nation’s national bird.”
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Minnesota U.S. Rep. Brad Finstad introduced the House version of the bill; the rest of the Minnesota delegation signed on as cosponsors.
A bald eagle flies high above Theodore Wirth Regional Park during the morning of the Minneapolis West Winter Bird Count on December 15, 2024.
Courtesy of Chris Boser
“More than 240 years ago, the Founding Fathers identified the bald eagle as a symbol of the strength and independence promised in our new nation,” Finstad said in a statement following the bill’s passage on Monday. “Today, we rightfully recognize the bald eagle as our official national bird — bestowing an honor that is long overdue.”
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The bill drew support from the National Eagle Center in Wabasha, where eagle aficionado Preston Cook displays part of his 40,000-piece eagle collection. He’s been an advocate for designating the eagle as the national bird.
“This is an exciting day,” Cook said in a statement following the House vote. “With this legislation, we honor its historic role and solidify its place as our national bird and an emblem of our national identity.”
Legislators said Minnesota was a logical backer for the bill — the state has the second-highest number of bald eagles, behind only Alaska.
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