energy breakthrough, page-2

By Region, Projects, South America December 28, 2009

Chile grants 9 geothermal exploration permits

Chiles Ministry of Mining granted 9 geothermal exploration areas with an approximate investment of US$8 billion to Minera El Abra (Chile), Magma Energy Chile (Canada), Hot Rock Chile (Australia) and Pacific Geothermal (Chile). The areas are located in the regions of Antofagasta, El Maule, Bobo, La Araucana, Regin Metropolitana OHiggins, adding 300,000 new hectares.

The new areas of exploration were requested directly by the companies under Law No. 19,657.

The Government of Chile faces the challenge of promoting the exploration of geothermal energy in the country, attracting businesses to invest in this sector and create favourable conditions for the exploitation of resources. This is comprehensive, but capturing all the uses and potentials this energy source can deliver to the nation is of a big advantage for the country.

The big winners should be new and emerging northern mining projects to be located certain distances from the geothermal projects, but also communities will be benefitting from the harvesting process, as Aboriginal people have not alternative power supply, and even alternative development that could arise from the use of this energy, and tourism projects, agricultural processing, industrial and domestic heating.

The strong growth in energy demand and the opportunity to use clean energy sources, indicate that power generation based on geothermal energy will play a significant role in the growth of electricity generation capacity in the medium and long term.

In 2008 there were 99 applications for exploration concessions and exploitation and 4 for this year have already been filed 57 applications for exploration and 2 for the exploitation of this energy

http://thinkgeoenergy.com/archives/3314
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Geothermal Claims filed by Hot Rock Chile S.A under Law 19.657


San Marcos
Region 1
830 km2 The prospect is located 100 km east from the coastal port of Iquique immediately alongside the open pit copper mine Cerro Colorado owned by BHP Billiton. The prospect includes two areas of geothermal spring activity, located 8 km apart at Macaya and Mamina.

San Jorge
Region I and II
600 km2 There are numerous Quaternary volcanics in the prospect area which include the Aucanaquilcha and Mino volcanoes to the south and a complex of several stratovolcanoes with Holocene lava flows on the border of Chile and Bolivia 10 km to the north east of which Volcan Olca dominates. A high flow geothermal surface spring occurs in the prospect area (>100 kg/sec).

Santa Caterina 1 and Santa Caterina 2
Region II
Total claim 1450 km2 This is a large area of high geothermal prospectivity situated between the drilled and proven geothermal systems at El Tatio to the south east and Apacheta to the immediate east. The greater prospect area includes a number of strato-volcanoes of Pleistocene to Holocene age including San Pedro, San Pablo, Paniri, Leon and Toconce volcanoes and the older El Abra volcano. An outstanding feature of the prospect is the huge Chao dacite lava dome to the southeast of Paniri, the largest dome of this type in South America.

Galo
Region VI
610 km2 Located immediately to the west of the Calerias prospect (see below) which Hot Rock has competitively bid. The same comments on the geothermal setting and description of the Calerias prospect apply to the Galo prospect.

Santa Alejandra and Santa Sonia Regions VII & VIII Total claim 1430 km2 These two contiguous prospects are associated with the glacier-clad Nevado de Longavi volcano, a late-Pleistocene to Holocene, dominantly andesitic stratovolcano constructed over a basement of Tertiary volcaniclastic and granitic rocks. No historical eruptions are known, although fumarolic activity continues at the summit. Surface emissions of hot geothermal water occur over a wide area of the two prospects.

Santa Antonia Region VIII
430 km2 The prospect is associated with the Copahue-Callaqui volcanic complex, located on the Chile - Argentina border. The area contains a wide caldera, and a long line of nine craters with a number of lakes formed from condensed geothermal steam. Four deep geothermal wells have been drilled on the Argentine side of the Copahue geothermal system. These encountered vapour dominated conditions with geothermal steam at 235oC to 250oC. A 0.7MWe binary cycle geothermal power plant has been installed on one of the Argentine wells and a 5MWe second stage development is now in progress.

http://www.hotrockltd.com/irm/Content/exploration_chile.html