(Sharecast News) - Power Metal Resources announced a major helium anomaly on Friday, at its wholly-owned Perch River Uranium Project in the Athabasca Basin, Saskatchewan, Canada.

The AIM-traded firm said the discovery came to light following the application of hyperspectral analysis, utilising Sentinel-2 satellite data on mineral reflectance.

It said the method pinpointed multiple helium anomalies on the project, with one particularly pronounced helium response detected in the project's centre.

The strength of the helium response hinted at two possible origins, with the first possibly suggesting the presence of substantial underlying uranium mineralisation.

Alternatively, it could indicate helium leakage from a concealed reservoir deep within the Earth's crust.

In response to the find, Power Metal said it had strategically redeployed its on-ground crews, previously focussed on the company's uranium assets, to conduct a detailed high-resolution soil sampling grid over the identified helium-rich zone.

Looking ahead, the company said it was planning to collaborate with an expert in helium gas, in a bid to chalk out the best subsequent steps to further assess and potentially harness the discovery.

"It is very exciting to be able to deliver this news to shareholders," said chief executive officer Sean Wade.

"As we have previously reported, this season's wider uranium fieldwork remains ongoing and further updates will be provided in due course."

However, Wade said the indications the firm had from Perch River could be "hugely significant", and warranted immediate release.

"Whilst it is always important to manage expectations, it is fair to say that the discovery of such a strong anomaly has far exceeded our expectations and sets the scene for what we hope to be a strong schedule of newsflow from our uranium portfolio overall."

At 1329 BST, shares in Power Metal Resources were up 15.87% at 0.81p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.