Jess McDiarmid
Northern News Services
Published Friday, November 9, 2007

YELLOWKNIFE - The City of Yellowknife is looking into the possibility of using geothermal energy from Con Mine to heat the city.

A feasibility study should be underway early in the new year, examining how much energy is in the roughly 1,800-metre deep mine and how it could be used.

The Robertson shaft head frame at Con Mine, a landmark for boaters, pilots and snowmobilers, is scheduled to be demolished in 2008. The city is studying if the mine's underground heat can be used as an energy source. - photo courtesy of Miramar Mining Corporation

"It's a phased approach," said energy co-ordinator Mark Henry.

After defining the heat resources in the mine, the study will look at how it could be extracted and what the cost would be.

"After that we'll decide what scenario is best and then we'll pursue actual on-site testing such as drilling and actually qualify the assumptions we've made," he said.

The study comes after a preliminary report written by an engineering professor at the University of British Columbia found Yellowknife to be one of the best markets for geothermal heat in the country.

According to Mory Ghomshei's preliminary report on geothermal energy from Con Mine, roughly 70 per cent of the energy consumed in the city is used to heat buildings and most is supplied by burning fossil fuels.

Developing the mine's geothermic energy could reduce the city's dependency on fossil fuels, create energy savings and cut back on greenhouse gas emissions in Yellowknife.

Only one place in Canada, Springhill, N.S., uses geothermal energy for heating, while several places in Europe are developing it, said Henry.

Con Mine, which produced more than five million ounces of gold during its 65 years of operation, has long been known as a heat source. Temperatures inside the mine have been measured at well over 30 C.

"The way it's panning out is the preliminary report indicates it's quite a large resource," said Henry.

The city started looking for funding for the feasibility study about a year ago and secured the nearly $300,000 last month from the territorial and federal governments, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and from city coffers.

With interest in preventing climate change increasing along with the price of oil, there's a strong motivation to find alternate sources of energy, said Henry.

"The make or break to a project like this is the economics," he said.