West Tasmania to be explored for geothermal power

Allegiance Mining of Australia plans to investigate the potential of deeply buried granites in western Tasmania for generating geothermal energy.

The company's subsidiary Geothermal Energy Tasmania has applied for a 3,000 sq km Special Exploration License for areas of western Tasmania which it believes may be underlain by hot granitic rocks capable of meeting the necessary criteria for hot rock geothermal energy production.

The company says it's found abnormally high thermal gradients in several deep West Coast mining operations which are known to lie above deeply buried granites.

Geothermal Energy Tasmania will initially be assessing all available relevant data on the area, and undertaking preliminary studies and surveys to validate the concept and demonstrate the potential for hot rock geothermal power generation.

The exploration area is close to infrastructure (roads, power lines, etc.)

Geothermal power is rapidly emerging around the world as a potential major source of base load electrical energy, with operations in several countries now in commercialization.

The energy so produced is environmentally friendly and emissions-free.

The process involves pumping water 3-5 kilometers down drill holes where it is heated up in an area of very hot (200-300 degrees Celsius) fractured rocks. The heated water then returns under pressure to surface up a second set of drill holes where it is used to generate electricity in a heat exchanger-power station complex. The cooled water is then returned into the cycle.