Ancient rock holds gas hidden for 3 billion years, study finds
Earth.com••science
Key Points:
- South Africa’s Witwatersrand Basin contains an ancient helium-rich natural gas reservoir, with estimates of over 400 billion cubic feet of helium trapped in the rocks for hundreds of millions of years.
- The Virginia gas project extracts helium-rich gas, with concentrations up to 12%, sourced mainly from uranium and thorium decay in gold-bearing reefs and underlying granite.
- Helium is vital for cooling MRI scanners and advanced technologies, but it forms slowly through radioactive decay, making it a nonrenewable resource facing global supply challenges.
- Researchers from the University of Glasgow are studying helium formation, migration, and retention in the basin using petrography, thermochronology, and noble gas isotope analysis to build models guiding future helium exploration.
