No.  Helium-3 is found in some natural (methane) gas and CO2 gas reservoirs on Earth but only in trace amounts.  There are very good reasons for this.

Helium-3 is a small component of the solar wind, but the ancient solar wind Helium-3 captured during the initial accretion of the Earth has mostly leaked away and escaped into space.  The early creation of the magnetosphere around the Earth as it was more fully formed –some 3.7 billion years ago–has rejected any further deposition of Helium-3 on Earth.

But the Moon is different.  While the ancient solar wind Helium-3 captured during accretion of the Moon also escaped into space, the Moon does not have a magnetic field surrounding it like the Earth does.  Thus, during the ensuing billions of years the solar wind has deposited trillions of kilograms of Helium-3 on the Moon, where it is estimated a retained amount is trapped by the mineral Ilmenite of 1.7 trillion kilograms in the top three meters of the lunar surface–1,700,000,000 kg.  By contrast, the trace amounts of Helium-3 retained from Earth’s formation are estimated at a mere 750 kg, and that amount is spread throughout the entirety of the planet at depths of thousands of feet below the surface.  That’s over 2 million times more Helium-3 on the Moon.

So, how much Helium-3 could we use?  For reference, we have available on Earth today about 5-15 kilograms per year, sourced from the Tritium waste product of heavy-water CANDU nuclear reactors as it radioactively decays to non-radioactive Helium-3 over a 12.3 year half-life.  Most of the Tritium is already dedicated for use in the nuclear arsenal, but as the decay product Helium-3 is retrieved from nuclear warheads it is available for purchase at about $20,000 per gram, and is used sparingly for radiation detection, medical imaging, and academic research.

To satisfy demand for fusion power and quantum computing, we may need more than 1,000 kilograms per year by the early part of the 2030s.  If we were to power only 20% of USA electricity demand by fusion energy, we would need about 6,700 kilograms per year.  Obviously, the entire amount of Helium-3 conceivably available on Earth–ignoring economic viability–could never satisfy that demand.  In contrast, the amount of Helium-3 available on the Moon could satisfy Earth’s total energy appetite for many thousands of years.

So, what’s all the hype about producing terrestrial Helium-3?  A recent article proclaims:

“Reservoir Yields Helium-3 at Concentrations Rivaling Lunar Samples.”  (A. Amiri, “A Rare ‘Fuel of Tomorrow’ Once Believed to Exist Only on the Moon Has Just Been Discovered Beneath Minnesota,”  Daily Galaxy, January 9, 2026).”  The article goes on to state: “…the company announced that gas samples taken from the Jetstream #1 well contained helium-3 concentrations up to 14.5 parts per billion (ppb).  That value matches or exceeds levels found in lunar regolith, based on samples brought back by the Apollo missions and data cited in NASA-backed research on lunar helium-3 reserves.”

While one may be able to “thread the needle” to find a modicum of literal truth in this announcement, it is nevertheless highly misleading.  It is the kind of hype that may provide a pop to a stock price but does not withstand serious scrutiny.

As with many technical issues in our “soundbite” media world, the devil is in the details.  First, it is important to understand that the produced Helium-3 gas referred to in this article is mixed with lots of other gases:  77% CO2, 13% N2, 10% Helium-4 and other trace gases, but only 0.00000145% Helium-3.  Given the likely size of the gas reservoir and projected gas flow rate (neither reported), one might expect about 1.5 kg/yr over a 20-year production life, or about 50 kg total.  And even that estimate might be generous given that published information suggests the reservoir is fractured basement (granite).  Naturally fractured reservoirs of this type are known for being able to produce at high initial rates but dramatically falling close to zero in very short periods of time–like the shale-gas reservoirs that require fracturing techniques to release the gas.  The fractures deplete with little to no incoming flow to replace the fracture volume.  Obviously, insufficient to satisfy projected Helium-3 demand, plus one would necessarily also produce an enormous amount of CO2, over 52 million times as much as the Helium-3–inconsistent with greenhouse gas objectives and requiring massive disposal costs.

And that’s only the beginning of the story.  There are no reservoirs of Helium-3 on Earth, and this latest announced discovery is no exception.  It comes as a very small fraction of other gas flows, here CO2, but more typically natural gas (methane).  The Helium-3 isotope in these wells is always associated with Helium-4 (the party balloon inert gas also used in medical and other applications).  To get the Helium-3, the total helium component must be separated from the other gases, and then the Helium-3 additionally separated from the Helium-4.  Lunar Helium-3 concentrations are 3,000-4,000 times higher than those found on Earth in the total helium gas flow, and that is true according to the USGS analysis report of the Jetstream #1 well in Minnesota.  Thus, very difficult and expensive to separate out.  Not economic.  Not scalable.

The mathematical coincidence that the Minnesota well had a “14.5 parts per billion (ppb)” fraction of Helium-3 as compared to the other gases produced (CO2, N2, Helium-4) is irrelevant to the question whether that well is a viable source of Helium-3 as compared to the lunar Helium-3.  The irrefutable fact is the USGS analysis report on Jetstream #1 found the ratio of Helium-4 to Helium-3 to be 7,795,485 to 1; whereas that ratio in the solar wind trapped on the Moon is 2,500 to 1–over 3,000 times more highly concentrated on the Moon.

There are hundreds of natural gas and CO2 wells that produce a small helium gas stream component (containing both Helium-4 and Helium-3).  That’s where we get the helium we use in everyday life, and yes, it also has a trace amount of Helium-3 mixed in.  But none of those wells have ever produced Helium-3 as a stand-alone product, even at the current price of $20,000 per gram–strong evidence that the business case doesn’t close.

For the Helium-3 demand projected to satisfy fusion, quantum computing, and other uses, the Moon is the only economic viable source–and there is enough available for many thousands of years.