Geothermal Lease Opportunities in Nevada

By Mark Coolbaugh and David Blackwell

Several new geothermal prospects in Nevada not currently under lease or lease application have been identified from recent data acquisitions and research at the Great Basin Center for Geothermal Energy (GBCGE), University of Nevada, Reno. A number of other known or not-so-well known geothermal prospects recently documented and assessed by the Southern Methodist University (SMU) Geothermal Laboratory are also open for lease acquisition. A future GRC Bulletin may discuss these areas in more detail, but in the meantime, the more significant prospects are briefly mentioned here along with links from which more detailed information can be obtained.

Collaboration with the gold mining industry has brought two new geothermal discoveries to light, one at Tungsten Mountains in the Edwards Creek Valley of southwestern Churchill County, and the other at McGuiness Hills in southern Lander County, Nevada. Exploration holes at each of these areas in 2004 and 2005 encountered hot water and steam at depths of ≤300 meters with fluid geothermometry indicating possible reservoir temperatures of 170 to 200^oC. More information can be obtained from the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology web site (www.nbmg.unr.edu/geothermal/gtmap.pdf), and from a PowerPoint presentation titled “Geothermal Exploration Short Stories…” posted on the Geothermal Resources Council web site (www.geothermal.org/powerpoint06_explor.html).

Research into borate occurrences and their relationship to geothermal activity suggests that geothermal systems may occur beneath or adjacent to Rhodes, Teels, and Colombus Marshes in Mineral and Esmeralda Counties, Nevada. At Rhodes Marsh, warm artesian wells have geothermometer values exceeding 150oC and opalized sands on the east side of the playa lie downhill from active Quaternary range front faults. More information can be obtained from the PowerPoint link listed above and from the 2006 GRC Transactions, or from the GBCGE (775-784-1415).

A number of geothermal prospects in Nevada warranting more exploration were recently identified and ranked by Maria Richards and David Blackwell of SMU in the no. 2 and no. 3 2002 issues of the GRC Bulletin. A review of the current BLM geothermal lease database indicates that many of these prospects are not under current lease or lease application. These prospects include the Deeth area in central Elko County where additional temperature gradient well data has recently become publicly available. The McCoy and Pirouette areas in Churchill County and others areas described by Blackwell and Richards are also available for leasing. More information can be obtained from the above-mentioned GRC Bulletin articles or by contacting the SMU Geothermal Laboratory at (214) 768-1975.

From GRC Bulletin, v. 36, no. 2, p. 36

Reprinted with kind permission from GRC.