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Working for our community.Mining News
Mining Pages
New Power
Supply To
Olympic Dam ?
17.5.07
Green Rock Energy has taken a major step forward to becoming Australiaís first commercial geothermal energy producer following its recently completed exploration evaluation of the Hot Dry Rocks near Olympic Dam.
The evaluation has highlighted the potential for a vast resource of geothermal energy in the Olympic Dam region.
With the agreement and co-operation of BHP Billiton, Green Rock measured the temperature in several deep mineral holes drilled during the last March quarter by BHP Billiton to around 2,300 metres depth at the Olympic Dam mine, only a few kilometres away from Green Rockís Blanche No 1 well.
Temperatures and the geothermal gradient were marginally higher than Blanche No 1 well confirming the heat anomaly of the Olympic Dam area.
Having drilled Blanche No 1 to nearly two kilometres Green Rock has proven the granites are hot.
The drilling by BHP Billiton confirms the heat anomaly should also extend over the wider geothermal leases also held by Green Rock.
The Company is now at the next step which is to establish the water circulation system capable of producing enough geothermal energy to power an electricity generation plant.
Since the end of the quarter Green Rock has entered into a contract with Australiaís premier scientific and industrial research organisation, the CSIRO, to carry out the mini-fracture stimulation of the granite at various depths in its Blanche No.1 well. This is now scheduled for around September this year when the designated high pressure pump becomes available.
The mini-fracture stimulation program will involve pumping water into the hot granites already drilled in Blanche No 1 to generate fractures in the hot granite at various depths.
The data obtained will provide details about the geological stress conditions which will be used to design the two deeper production and injection wells and the associated fracture stimulation program to establish a water circulation system between the two wells to recover heat from the hot granites.
It will be the first mini-fracture stimulation program for geothermal energy carried out anywhere in Australia.
This innovative approach to geothermal exploration in Australia has the potential to significantly lower costs and risks for Green Rock by providing key input information which will be used for the optimal design and conduct of the subsequent deeper drilling and fracture stimulation program.
This will enable more accurate design and costing of the deep wells and fracture stimulation program than has been possible for others who have had to drill to much greater depths before intersecting the top of their targeted hot reservoir rocks.
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Cornfield Communications