Pulsar Helium buys 1,360 acres for Lake County Topaz project

Pulsar Helium has bought about 1,360 acres of surface land at its Topaz Helium Project in Lake County for $2.48 million in cash, a move that puts the company in control of the ground where it expects the next phase of development to happen. The purchase from Wolf Lands Inc. includes the Jetstream #7 well site and gives Pulsar more certainty over where it can place roads, pads and other infrastructure as it pushes the project closer to production readiness.

That matters in a county where land use, road access and nearby industrial activity can shape whether a resource project stays an exploration idea or becomes a full operating site. Topaz sits about 100 kilometers north of Duluth, in an area with grid power, local services and a workforce long familiar with mining and other resource development. Pulsar has also said the project lies within about 8 miles of one of North America’s largest iron ore mines, a reminder that Lake County already lives with heavy industrial logistics, truck traffic and the kinds of permit questions that come with them.

The land deal lands as Minnesota sharpens the rules around helium and other gas extraction. Governor Tim Walz signed helium-related legislation on May 26, 2026, after lawmakers in May 2024 required gas producers to secure a Minnesota Department of Natural Resources permit and ordered expedited rulemaking. The state says Minnesota had no gas-production rules when helium was accidentally discovered in Lake County in 2011, when an exploration crew drilling for nickel hit helium-rich gas by accident. The DNR was then given a deadline to publish a notice of intent to adopt rules by May 22, 2026.

For Pulsar, the timing is favorable. The company says it has completed its Jetstream 3-7 exploration and appraisal program, with all wells encountering gas under high pressure. It says Jetstream #1 averaged 8.1% helium and Jetstream #2 averaged 5.6%, levels far above the 0.3% concentration it says is generally considered economically viable. Pulsar also says earlier lab work on Jetstream #1 confirmed elevated helium-3, and it describes Topaz as North America’s highest-grade helium discovery.

The surface purchase also signals how seriously Pulsar is treating the project’s scale-up. The company is seeking quotes for up to four new production wells, which would add to two existing production-ready wells. Thomas Abraham-James, who co-founded Pulsar in 2019, has said the company believes the geology could host a larger reservoir. In Babbitt, where Mayor Andrea Zupancich called the project “pretty exciting,” the next question is whether this land control, along with Minnesota’s new permitting framework, brings Topaz closer to actual production and the jobs, traffic and tax base that could follow.