Helium Rush: Tanzania steps onto the global rare metals stage

SUNDAY May 3, 2026

By Adam Ihucha

The Tranquillity News Correspondent, Tanzania 

Tanzania is stepping into one of the most supply-constrained and strategically critical corners of the global commodities market: Helium.

On May 2, 2026, the government formalised a production agreement with Helium One Global Limited, marking the country’s official entry into the global helium industry.

The deal, executed through a joint venture known as Songwe Helium Limited, centres on the Southern Highlands’ Songwe Region—an area increasingly viewed as one of the world’s most promising untapped helium basins.

The Deputy Minister for Minerals  Dr Steven Kiruswa, called the agreement “historic,” signalling Tanzania’s ambition to reposition itself as a strategic supplier in a market long dominated by a handful of producers.

A market controlled by few

Helium is a paradox of modern industry: Abundant in the universe, yet scarce and geopolitically concentrated on Earth.

Global production remains tightly controlled, with the United States and Qatar accounting for more than 75 per cent of supply.

Secondary producers—including Russia, Algeria, Canada, China and Poland—contribute smaller, often volatile shares.

This concentration has left global supply vulnerable to disruption.

Outages in Qatar, sanctions-related uncertainty in Russia, and periodic shutdowns of the U.S. Federal Helium Reserve have triggered recurring shortages over the past decade—sending prices sharply higher and forcing rationing in critical industries.

Demand is surging—and inelastic

Unlike hydrocarbons, helium is non-substitutable in many of its applications.

It is essential for cooling superconducting magnets in MRI scanners, manufacturing semiconductors, enabling space exploration, and supporting advanced scientific research.

Global demand already exceeds 6 billion cubic feet (bcf) annually and is projected to surpass 8.5 bcf by 2030.

Growth is being driven by the expansion of healthcare infrastructure, particularly MRI installations, rising semiconductor fabrication capacity, increased private and public investment in aerospace, and the growth of quantum computing and advanced research.

Crucially, demand for helium is relatively inelastic, meaning shortages cannot easily be offset by alternatives.

Tanzania’s geological advantage

What sets Tanzania apart is geology.

Unlike most helium producers, where the gas is extracted as a by-product of natural gas, Tanzania’s deposits—particularly in the Southern Rukwa Basin—are believed to contain high concentrations of primary helium.

Early exploration results suggest unusually rich concentrations, improving commercial viability.

The Southern Rukwa project, led by Helium One Global Limited alongside partners including Noble Helium, is now advancing toward production, expected within 18 months.

More than $60 million has already been committed.

For investors, that timeline is aggressive, but strategically timed as the market remains undersupplied and new large-scale projects globally have faced delays.

Africa’s untapped helium frontier

Tanzania is not alone in Africa’s helium race, but it is ahead.

Algeria remains the continent’s only established producer, with helium recovered as a by-product of natural gas.

South Africa has emerging projects, though at smaller scale, while Namibia is attracting exploration interest but remains pre-commercial.

Tanzania’s advantage lies in scale, concentration, and timing.

Its deposits could place it among the few countries globally with standalone helium production—an increasingly valuable distinction.

Strategic Economics: A high-value gas

Helium commands a premium among industrial gases.

Prices vary widely depending on purity and contract structures, but bulk liquid helium has often traded at several hundred dollars per thousand cubic feet, far above natural gas equivalents.

For Tanzania, the economics are amplified by policy design.

Under the Songwe agreement, the government will hold a 17 per cent equity stake, revenues from helium, and associated gases including hydrogen will be accounted for separately, and the state will gain direct participation in strategic decision-making.

This structure aligns with Tanzania’s broader push to capture more value from extractive industries while still attracting foreign capital.

From frontier to strategic supplier

The stakes extend beyond revenue.

Helium is increasingly viewed as a strategic resource critical to healthcare systems, chip supply chains, and national research capabilities.

Recent shortages have forced hospitals in some markets to delay MRI scans, while chipmakers have scrambled to secure supply contracts.

In that context, new entrants like Tanzania are not just market participants—they are potential stabilizers.

Dr Kiruswa framed it bluntly: Tanzania is positioning itself as part of the solution to global helium shortages.

The road ahead

The Songwe project now enters its development phase, with expectations that first production could coincide with tightening global supply conditions later this decade.

If execution matches geological promise, Tanzania could evolve from a frontier exploration story into a key node in the global helium supply chain, reshaping both Africa’s resource map and the geopolitics of one of the world’s most quietly critical elements.

For a gas that quite literally lifts rockets and cools the machines of the future, Tanzania’s entry may prove well-timed and highly consequential.