The president of a resource company investing in Saskatchewan is excited about what the future holds.
President and CEO of North American Helium, Marlon McDougall, says the potential for the helium market in Saskatchewan is huge.
“The helium sales from Saskatchewan can be global, depending on what you do with it,” said MacDougall. “It is trucked, so it can go anywhere in North America, it can be liquified and put on ships and taken to Asia. It really is a global market, it’s a multi-billion dollar market.”
The plant being built near Maple Creek is just the beginning of North American Helium’s presence in the province, says McDougall, adding that the plant is a change in slope for the company.
“Now that we’ve been fully funded and building our first plant, that will allow us to generate the cash we need to be able to have an ongoing exploration and development program,” said McDougall. “Which will then yield additional plants, and eventually, a liquefier that would be located in Saskatchewan as well.”
When many people think of helium, they think of balloons, but McDougall says that helium is used in several other capacities like thermodynamic research, MRI machines, and Space X rockets.
McDougall says that an important thing to the company is being on the ground and being a part of the community. He adds that NAH prioritizes hiring locally.
“As we build out our facilities, we intend to hire Saskatchewan people, use Saskatchewan services for all the work we do,” said McDougall. “We definitely want to be an employer on the ground in Saskatchewan, with a presence that’s significant.”
McDougall thinks that the helium industry in the province will add to its economic prosperity.