Hot Dry Rocks Pty Ltd
ABN 12 114 617 622

PO Box 251 (31/141 Osborne St)
South Yarra VIC 3141 Australia
Phone: +61 3 9867 4078
Email: info@hotdryrocks.com
Web: www.hotdryrocks.com

HDRPL Geothermal Newsletter

Issue 6

News from the Australian Geothermal Energy sector

1 April 2007

Highlights from the month of March…
The month started on a positive note on Thursday 1st with an article in The Australiannewspaper by Tom Kenyon, a Labor Party MP in the South Australian state parliament.
Boiling Tom’s 750-word essay down to its core, he said “geothermal energy is emission
free, cheaper than nuclear, not much more expensive than our present coal and definitely
cheaper than coal if allowances are made for geo-sequestration.”
Also on Thursday 1st, news emerged through the ABC that Glenelg Shire Council in
Victoria is “searching the globe for innovative geothermal bore systems” to replace thePortland district heating system decommissioned last year. The Mayor said that “it is in
ratepayers' best interests to use geothermal energy [because] over a 20 year lifespan thesavings for the community would be in the millions.”
On a personal note, on Tuesday 6th yours truly was confirmed as an Australian
representative on the Forum (i.e. interim committee) of the Western Pacific Regional
Branch of the International Geothermal Association (or the WPRB-IGA, as we liketo call it). The position is provisional until elections are held at the end of 2007. On thesame day, I was nominated for a position on the full Board of the IGA. Elections forthese positions are also in late 2007. Membership in the IGA is available to all
Australian individuals (http://iga.igg.cnr.it/iga_about.php?sub=member). Membership ofthe WPRB is voluntary to IGA members residing in this part of the world.
Things went very quiet for a couple of weeks. Some might say “too quiet.” Then on
Friday 16th, Green Rock Energy released an update on flow tests from their Ortahaza
Project in Hungary. Bottom-hole temperature at Ortaháza No 5 was confirmed at 146°C.
Flow was enhanced through acidification of the carbonate reservoir and is considered
suitable for supply of energy for direct heat but insufficient for commercial electricity
power production. This means that GRK’s World Bank insurance policy kicks in andthey should get back most of the money they spent on the testing.
On Tuesday 20th, HDRPL presented a talk about “The geothermal potential of theNorthern Territory” at the Annual Geoscience Exploration Seminar (AGES) in AliceSprings. The talk generated a lot of local interest, with a subsequent story appearing in
the Centralian Advocate newspaper and a live-to-air radio interview on ABC local radio.
At a conference in Adelaide on Thursday 22nd, Dr James Johnson, Chief of Geoscience
Australia's Onshore Energy and Minerals Division, gave some details about how $59
million will be spent on GA’s programme for onshore energy discovery (includinggeothermal). A significant amount will be spent collecting new radiometric data thatIssue 61 April 2007

Hot Dry Rocks Pty Ltd
ABN 12 114 617 622

PO Box 251 (31/141 Osborne St)
South Yarra VIC 3141 Australia
Phone: +61 3 9867 4078
Email: info@hotdryrocks.com
Web: www.hotdryrocks.com

will be useful in identifying regions of radiogenic granites attractive for geothermal
exploration. The main areas of investigation will be northern South Australia, thePilbara and Canning Basin in Western Australia, large tracts of the Northern Territoryand north Queensland.
On Friday 23rd, newcomers Torrens Energy (TEY) announced that their IPO was“heavily oversubscribed”; so successful, in fact, that it closed early, having easily raised
the full $6,000,000 they were seeking.
Green Rock Energy released more information about their Hungary project in an open
briefing on Monday 26th. Sustained flow rates at Ortaháza 5 were approximately 1,100–
1,200 cubic metres per day. A flow rate of 2,200 cubic metres per day was required tosupport a geothermal power plant. Flow rates in excess of the required levels have beenachieved in the Pannonian Basin before, and GRK remains confident about the overall
project. The next test location will be selected from the zone in the Pannonian Basin
where the best water flow rates can be expected.
Arguably the most diverse ever gathering of Australians interested in geothermal energy
met at Parliament House in Canberra on Tuesday 27th at the invitation of Federal
Ministers Macfarlane (Resources) and Turnbull (Environment). The “Industry
Roundtable for the Australian Geothermal Energy Sector” was at once a chance for thegeothermal sector as a whole to enjoy some quality time and interaction with bothMinisters (albeit half an hour), and the beginning of a process to create a “developmentframework” for the sector. The general feeling of the group (or the small sample I spoketo) was that both Ministers were engaged and supportive of geothermal energy and keen
to help smooth major impediments to development. For example, at the suggestion that
the REDI funding scheme is not well suited to applications for geothermal energy
projects, Minister Macfarlane replied with “I bet it will be tomorrow.”Torrens Energy Limited burst onto the Australian Stock Exchange at 12:30 EST onFriday 30th. Their 20¢ shares began trading at 35¢ and closed on the first day at 33.5¢.

EDE: 0.570 (-00.9%)
GRK: 0.043 (-17.3%)

Issue 6

GDY: 1.07 (-14.4%)
PTR: 0.85 (-04.5%)

GHT: 0.700 (+48.9%)
TEY: 0.335 (---)

1 April 2007