Demand for helium is rising alongside the semiconductor, healthcare and nuclear energy sectors.
Produced from natural gas wells, helium is an odorless, colorless, non-toxic, non-combustible and non-corrosive gas. While it may bring to mind birthday balloons, it is an important industrial gas due to its cooling properties.
Helium has several critical applications across various industries witnessing market growth, including the manufacturing of semiconductors and electronics, medical imaging and nuclear power generation. A Global Industry Analysts market study estimates that the global market for helium will reach US$2.3 billion in 2022 and rise at a compound annual growth rate of 4.3 percent to hit US$2.8 billion by 2026.
Global helium supply is mainly attributable to production at 20 liquefaction facilities spread across the US, Russia, Poland, Qatar, Algeria, Australia and China. However, increasing demand for helium as an industrial gas is spurring further exploration and development of helium projects in other locations.
Canadian helium stocks are performing well in this strong market environment. Below the Investing News Network lists the top Canadian helium stocks on the TSXV by share price performance so far in 2022. TSX and CSE listed stocks were considered, but did not make the cut this time around.
All companies listed had market caps of at least C$10 million as of April 28, 2022. Numbers and figures were current at that time, with data gathered using TradingView’s stock screener.
Year-to-date gain: 182.5 percent; market cap: C$47.24 million
First Helium is working to become a leading independent provider of helium gas in North America. The company holds over 79,000 acres along the highly prospective Worsley Trend in Northern Alberta, and 276,000 acres in Southern Alberta’s Helium Fairway, near existing helium production.
Following on from its successful 15-25 helium discovery well at the Worsley project, First Helium has identified numerous follow-up drill locations for future helium exploration and development across Worsley. The top Canadian helium stock has found a number of helium exploration targets at its Helium Fairway lands as well.
2. Desert Mountain Energy (TSXV:DME)
Year-to-date gain: 70.24 percent; market cap: C$253.23 million
Next up on this list of top Canadian helium stocks is Desert Mountain Energy, which is engaged in the exploration, development and production of helium, hydrogen and noble gas projects in North America.
In March, Desert Mountain Energy was selected as the “Best Helium Exploration and Development Company — North America” at the Canadian Business Awards. As of late April, the company had completed the drilling of seven helium wells in the McCauley helium field in Arizona.
3. Imperial Helium (TSXV:IHC)
Year-to-date gain: 21.05 percent; market cap: C$19.12 million
Last on this list of the top Canadian helium stocks so far this year is Imperial Helium, which has exploration- and development-stage helium assets in North America. The company’s most advanced project is Steveville, an Alberta helium discovery at which it plans to construct a production facility that is capable of processing a combined 10 million to 15 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of raw gas.
In March, Imperial Helium confirmed raw gas deliverability of 10 to 15 MMcf/d from the first two wells at its Steveville property. The company’s proprietary database will allow it to identify further targets for helium exploration and development in proximity to producing assets and shut-in well targets.
Securities Disclosure: I, Melissa Pistilli, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
Editorial Disclosure: First Helium is a client of the Investing News Network. This article is not paid-for content.
From Your Site Articles
Related Articles Around the Web
window.REBELMOUSE_LOWEST_TASKS_QUEUE.push(function(){
if (!REBELMOUSE_BOOTSTRAP_DATA.isUserLoggedIn) {
const searchButton = document.querySelector(".js-search-submit"); if (searchButton) { searchButton.addEventListener("click", function(e) { var input = e.currentTarget.closest(".search-widget").querySelector("input"); var query = input && input.value; var isEmpty = !query;
if(isEmpty) { e.preventDefault(); input.style.display = "inline-block"; input.focus(); } }); }
}
});
window.REBELMOUSE_LOWEST_TASKS_QUEUE.push(function(){
var scrollableElement = document.body; //document.getElementById('scrollableElement');
scrollableElement.addEventListener('wheel', checkScrollDirection);
function checkScrollDirection(event) { if (checkScrollDirectionIsUp(event)) { //console.log('UP'); document.body.classList.remove('scroll__down'); } else { //console.log('Down'); document.body.classList.add('scroll__down'); } }
function checkScrollDirectionIsUp(event) {
if (event.wheelDelta) {
return event.wheelDelta > 0;
}
return event.deltaY < 0;
}
});
window.REBELMOUSE_LOWEST_TASKS_QUEUE.push(function(){
!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?
n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};
if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';
n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;
t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];
s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,document,'script','https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js');
fbq('init', '2388824518086528');
});
Read More: Top 3 Canadian Helium Stocks of 2022