Panax Geothermal Ltd has announced part of its Limestone Coast Geothermal Project in
South Australia has a ‘Measured Resource’ of 11,000 petajoules (PJ), enough to power
more than 500,000 homes.
Panax Managing Director Dr Bertus de Graaf said an independent assessment of the
areas by Hot Dry Rocks Pty Ltd (HDRPL) has led to a substantial upgrade of Panax’s
Penola Trough resource.
Dr de Graaf said the Penola Trough in GEL 223 now totalled Geothermal Resources of
132,000 PJ, of which 11,000 PJ could be classified as a Measured Resource.
“The determination of a relatively large Measured Resource of 11,000 PJ relating to a
Hot Sedimentary Aquifer (HSA) project is a first for Australia,” he said.
“The Measured Resource is more than five times larger than anything announced by
other Australian geothermal companies and we have arrived at this without drilling a
single well.
“By any standard, the Measured Resource of 11,000 PJ is, in theory, large enough for
operating a 1,000 Megawatt power station for 30 years, or sufficient energy to power
more than 500,000 homes.“The fact that this Measured Resource is directly associated with a HSA is very promising, as this type of project relies on hot water, contained in an existing aquifer or reservoir.”
Dr de Graaf said the updated assessment by HDRPL found Penola Trough GEL 223’s
Geothermal Resources included 89,000 PJ of Inferred Resources and 32,000 PJ of
Indicated Resources. “The large increase in the Total Geothermal Resources as compared to the previous announcements is directly related to the result of new work carried out by HDRPL,” he
said.*) in accordance with the Australian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Geothermal Resources and Geothermal Reserves, 2008 edition.
Dr de Graaf said the total geothermal resource for the greater Limestone Coast Geothermal Project of 202,000 PJ excludes a resource assessment for the Tantanoola Trough, which is currently underway. Panax is scheduled to start drilling its first production well, Salamander 1, in mid 2009. The completion of this well is expected to lead to the conversion of part of the
geothermal resources to geothermal reserves. Dr de Graaf said the company was also completing an independently reviewed prefeasibility study, which is scheduled for release later this quarter. “The Limestone Coast Geothermal Project has the potential to become a renewable
energy project of national importance,” he said. Panax’s Limestone Coast Geothermal Project, located in South Australia’s south-east near Mount Gambier, covers a total area of 3,127 sq km. The National Electricity Market Management Company power grid traverses the entire project area.
Panax is a pure geothermal company with about $7 million in cash, and no debt. The
Company’s focus is on exploring existing reservoirs containing hot geothermal fluids,
which have less risks than hot fractured rock geothermal projects and have a much
shorter development time.

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