‘Active natural hydrogen field’ confirmed in SA’s Yorke Peninsula

Brisbane-based company Gold Hydrogen announced to the Australian Securities Exchange, or ASX, the results of its first natural hydrogen exploration on South Australia’s Yorke Peninsula at a site known as the Ramsay well, saying it discovered “significant concentrations of hydrogen and helium.”

Until recently, natural or “gold” hydrogen has garnered little attention in Australia and abroad. A renewed interest blossomed in the last years, however, after a “chance rediscovery” of historical reports of two wells drilled in the 1930s where high purity hydrogen was detected, according to Australian energy consultancy, EnergyQuest.

The Ramsay well was one of these, and it was re-tested in October by Gold Hydrogen which was granted rights to explore approximately 9,500 km2 near Adelaide, specifically the southern part of the Yorke Peninsula through to Kangaroo Island.

The results have now returned, with Gold Hydrogen announcing that its testing and laboratory results measured air-corrected hydrogen at 73.3% at 240 metres below ground level, consistent with the 76% air-corrected concentration of hydrogen reported in the Ramsay Oil Bore 1 in 1931. 

“These measurements validate historical results, and confirm the presence of a hydrogen play at shallow depths in the Ramsay Project area,” it told the ASX.

“Relatively high concentration” helium was also detected in the well, which Gold Hydrogen’s Managing Director, Neil McDonald, said “could be a significant value-add to the project.”

Gold Hydrogen is aiming to be the the first company in Australia to produce, use and sell natural hydrogen which it described as an “inexhaustible source of green energy.” It has been labelled ‘inexhaustible’ because it is believed the chemical reaction that leads to underground natural hydrogen deposits continually regenerates, though technical and scientific knowledge of natural hydrogen reservoirs remains limited.

Gold Hydrogen is currently preparing to drill the Ramsay 2 well on the project, saying “the Ramsay 2 well is expected to spud in mid-November.”

“It is incredibly exciting that we have replicated the results of 100 years ago at 240m,” the Managing Director added. “With the additional find of helium… we view these results as being better than planned.”