When South African startup Renergen bought the production and exploration rights for some grassy fields near Virginia, a town in the country's Free State province, the founders were expecting to find small natural gas reserves that could power nearby mining opportunities.They paid $US1 ($1.49) for the rights in 2013, according to chief executive Stefano Marani, and started to test the composition of the gas flowing from two rusted drill pipes that had been installed years before for mineral exploration. What they found was abnormally high concentrations of helium.Beyond inflating party balloons, helium has a number of commercial applications. When condensed into a liquid form, it is an essential cooling component used in the manufacture of microchips and in the operation of life-saving MRI scanning technology. Yet global helium prices are volatile and supplies erratic, with the gas produced in fewer than 10 countries.
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