Prominence Energy locks mid-2027 drill targets for South Australia helium hunt

Prominence Energy (ASX:PRM) has set its sights on a mid-2027 drilling campaign for natural helium and hydrogen in South Australia, after completing a geophysical study that confirmed existing leads and flagged new ones.

The company finished a gravity and magnetic inversion and interpretation across its Eyre and Northern Hinge projects. The work refined subsurface structures, geological boundaries, and stratigraphic architecture relevant to helium and natural hydrogen accumulation, Prominence said.

“The completed geophysical work confirms much of our existing interpretation, strengthens several leads and has identified new opportunities across Eyre and Northern Hinge,” COO Dr. Krista Davies said.

Prominence is now ranking the best drilling opportunities. The company is targeting a “disciplined” mid-2027 drilling campaign, Davies said.

RISC Advisory has started an independent prospective resources review of the Eyre project, due by the end of this month. The review will assess the potential scale of identified exploration opportunities and provide a basis for subsequent technical, commercial, and drilling decisions.

On the Northern Hinge side, Prominence is building its prospect portfolio after finalising a Native Title Land Use Agreement. The deal supports the pathway toward granting about 20,000 square kilometres of prospective acreage and enables the next phase of technical work. The company targets an independent prospective resources review for that project by September 2026.

The company is chasing natural helium and hydrogen, two gases that have drawn growing interest as critical inputs for medical imaging, semiconductor manufacturing, and potential clean energy. South Australia has emerged as a key exploration region for both.

Helium is used in MRI scanners, fibre optics, and semiconductor fabrication. Natural hydrogen, sometimes called “white” or “gold” hydrogen, is being explored as a potential low-carbon energy source if it can be produced at scale from subsurface accumulations.

The Eyre exploration model is supported by multiple datasets, Prominence said. Those datasets, together with the completed geophysical work, will underpin the resource review and ongoing prospect ranking.

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