Adelaide, Dec 11, 2006 AEST (ABN Newswire) - There has been further endorsement of Petratherm Limited's (ASX: PTR) emerging Paralana hot rock discovery in northern South Australia, with new data reinforcing the long-term heat potential for the geothermal field.
Petratherm announced today it had measured the heat flow at the Paralana test site, with a reading of 129 milliwatts per square metre (mW/m2) - a reading higher than the Olympic Dam mine to the west, itself one of the highest in Australia for non-volcanic areas.
The heat flow reading was calculated from a just completed thermal conductivity analyis of the well's drill core, and temperature log data, to provide the expected radiant heat energy throughout the well. The drill core and temperature log data were aquired from the Paralana geothermal evaluation well drilled in June this year.
"This is one of the three main jigsaw pieces we have been waiting for, along with thermal conductivity and temperature gradient, to infill the key hot rock parameters for Paralana," Petratherm's Managing Director, Mr Terry Kallis, said today.
"The result provides further confidence in the economic viability of the thermal resource at Paralana interpreted to be located at a depth of 3.5 - 4 kilometres," Mr Kallis said.
"Significantly, the heat flow is among the highest recorded in Australia and is more than double the global average for the Earth's continental crust," Mr Kallis said.
To cover the full extent of the Paralana geothermal resource, Petratherm has secured a new geothermal exploration licence (GEL 254) abutting the three other Paralana tenements to bring the Company's tenure position to approximately 2000 square kilometres.
The Paralana thermal resource has an estimated theoretical resource potential of 13,000 MWe which is approximately eight times South Austrailia's average daily capacity need.
Petratherm recently became the only Australian company to secure the right to help China best determine if, how and where geothermal or "hot rock" generated power can help service its emergence as the world's fastest growing market for electricity.
The decision to award preference and potential government funding to Petratherm was backed by the key countries in the Asia Pacific Partnership on Climate and Clean Development (AP6) - the United States, China, India, Japan, South Korea and Australia.
Petratherm has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Heathgate Resources, operator of the Beverley uranium mine in South Australia, for the mine to potentially take future electricity supplies from any successful commercialisation of the Paralana project. The Beverley mine is only 11 kilometres from the Paralana Hot Rock Site.
Contact
Kevin Skinner
Senior Consultant
FIELD PUBLIC RELATIONS
231 South Road
MILE END SA 5031
Tel: (08) 8234 9555
Fax: (08) 8234 9566
Mob: 0414 822 631
kevin@fieldpr.com.au
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