GDY QUARTERLY REPORTPERIOD ENDING 31 DECEMBER 2006…OVERSEAS...

GDY
QUARTERLY REPORT
PERIOD ENDING 31 DECEMBER 2006
…
OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENTS
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Key Publication
MIT-led panel backs 'heat mining' as key U.S. energy source
January 22, 2007

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Basel Deep Heat Mining site – Switzerland

The Basel project costed at over $80 million has been halted temporarily because of concerns over minor seismic events.

The project is operated less than 3km from the centre of the city, and a 5,000 m deep well was completed in 2006 with a bottom hole temperature of 200ºC.

During high pressure fluid injection (stimulation) in December and early January a number of seismic events greater than magnitude 1 were recorded by the micro-seismic monitoring network.

Two events of magnitude 3.1 and 3.4 were felt at surface, and this caused concern from the local residents.

The injection was terminated.

Seismic events in the magnitude range 3 to 3.9 are classed as minor with an effect “Often felt, but rarely causes damage”.

Basel is at the southern end of the Rhinegraben, a known active rift zone.

In 1356 a quake of magnitude 6.5 virtually destroyed the city.

(Note that the Richter scale is a logarithmic scale means a ten fold increase in intensity).

In comparison to this project, Geodynamics’ Innamincka project is in a known low seismic- risk area.

Stimulations carried out in 2003 and 2005 resulted in a number of very minor to minor seismic events.

Expert studies by Geodynamics and the South Australian Department of Primary Industries and Resources (PIRSA) indicate that the Innamincka site is a “safe” area without large faults close by that could be subject to slip and consequent larger events.