Canada’s largest helium purification hub opens in southwestern Saskatchewan

Helium production is expected to boom in Saskatchewan after a massive new facility began operations Thursday.

The purification facility, located west of Regina near Stewart Valley, is expected to produce approximately 73 million cubic feet of helium annually. Saskatchewan’s Energy and Resources Minister Chris Beaudry said work at the site will strengthen Saskatchewan’s position as Canada’s top helium producer.

The production will increase provincial exports by more than 40 per cent, the minister said.

“Today is another step toward a stronger, more diversified resource economy,” Beaudry told reporters at a news conference.

“Around the world, helium demand is growing for medical imaging, aerospace, advanced manufacturing and the technologies that are shaping our future.”

North American Helium, a gas supplier headquartered in Calgary, is operating the facility. In a news release issued Sept. 22, the company claimed an independent evaluator said there are 1.1 billion cubic feet of helium reserves at the Stewart Valley site.

Helium is obtained by drilling into the ground where it naturally forms after certain chemicals, including uranium and thorium, decay and radioactively decompose.

Typically, it is produced as a byproduct of natural gas projects, then purified, according to North American Helium’s website. At dedicated purification sites, like the one opening in Stewart Valley, helium is separated from contaminants, such as nitrogen, and compressed. It is then further processed until the helium is 99 per cent pure.

The southwestern Saskatchewan facility will offer a “meaningful increase in economic activity and government revenue over time,” Nicholas Snyder, chairman and CEO of North American Helium, said while speaking at Thursday’s news conference.

The facility is opening at a time when there is a gap in the market, according to Snyder. He pointed to recent geopolitical disruptions in the industry – such as the ongoing war in Iran, which prompted the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

“With Stewart Valley on stream, we now have the regional production base to support Canada’s first helium liquefier, which we intend to locate in the town of Swift Current,” Snyder said.

Opening the liquefier less than 40 kilometres south of the purification centre will increase efficiency, reduce trucking emissions and bolster the economy in southwestern Saskatchewan to create a local helium hub, he added, noting the project is still in the works.

The element, which generally exists in its liquid or gaseous forms, is usually liquified for cost-effective shipping. As it stands, every facility that liquifies Canadian helium is in the U.S.

“I think there’s such an opportunity for this region, both geopolitically reliable (and) operationally reliable, right along the Trans-Canada Highway. I mean, this is just a multi-decade opportunity,” Snyder said.

Helium is used in health-care settings, like in MRI machines where it keeps the super conducting magnets cool, as well as in rocket launches and deep-sea diving. The manufacturing of fiber optic cables, cell phones and flatscreen televisions also requires helium.