| Title | Investigating the Low-Temperature Geothermal Energy Potential of the Gaspe Mines, Murdochville, Canada |
|---|---|
| Authors | Raymond, Jasmin; Therrien, Rene |
| Year | 2006 |
| Conference | Geothermal Resources Council Transactions |
| Keywords | Geothermal Heat Pumps; geothermal energy, low-temperature, heat pumps, mine, base-metal, Gaspe Mines, Murdochville, Canada |
| Abstract | The low-temperature geothermal resources of the Gaspé Mines, Murdochville, Canada, has been assessed in an effort to promote the use of renewable energy in this town coping with the recent mine closure. Initial site characterisation indicates that the flooded underground base-metal mine, hosted in the Gaspé Superior Limestones Group, contains about 3.7 million m3 of water corresponding to approximately 6.7 X 1013 J of thermal energy. Fifty percent of this energy is enclosed in the C Zone workings, located at 180 to 500 m below ground surface under the town’s industrial park. A pumping test performed in an old mining shaft helped estimate the energy that can be extracted with a heat pump system. A submersible pump was lowered at about 49 m depth in the shaft, which has a diameter of 4.57 m and a length greater than 330 m. The test lasted three weeks and water was pumped at a rate averaging 62 L/s. Little drawdown was observed in the pumping well, suggesting that mine workings form a highly permeable reservoir that can be use to pump groundwater at a high rate to extract significant energy. The groundwater recovery temperature averaged 6.7 °C, allowing thermal energy extraction on the order of 969 kW. Results from this study indicate that a geothermal energy distribution network could be constructed at the industrial park to heat buildings with heat pumps extracting the geothermal resources contained in the mine. |