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Geothermal Potential of Closed Underground Mines: Resource Assessment Study of the Con Mine, Northwest Territories, Canada

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Abstract

After the closure of an underground mine, tunnels commonly become flooded and can be potentially exploited for its geothermal resource. Developing new methods for quantifying the energy content of this reservoir with a complex geometry is important to assess the economic value of its heat resource. The objective of this paper is to provide a first-order assessment of the geothermal potential of an underground mine using the Con Mine near Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada, as an example. Field data allowed the development of an improved analytical approach to evaluate the geothermal potential of the Con Mine based on a thermal power budget. The sources considered in the thermal power budget are the thermal inertia of the water in the mine and the surrounding host rock, and the water that infiltrates the mine from nearby lakes. Analytical calculations are based on the finite linear heat source equation, considering cooled or heated water in the mine tunnels as heat sources or sinks. The geometry of the underground mine is consequently simplified to a linear heat source of equivalent length and fixed radius. The Thiem equation is used to calculate the water seeping into the mine. Results obtained with this approach and considering the operation of a geothermal heat pump system indicate a total energy of 17,520 MWh y−1 and 8234 MWh y−1 that can be delivered to buildings for heating and cooling purposes, respectively. This new approach provides an improvement to the volumetric method commonly used to assess geothermal resources.

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Acknowledgments

The support of the Northwest Territories Geological Survey, the Geological Survey of Canada, Newmont Mining and the Northern geothermal potential research chair funded by the Institut nordique du Québec is acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre Eau Terre Environnement, Institut national de la recherche scientifique, Québec City, Canada

    Dan David Ngoyo Mandemvo, Félix-Antoine Comeau & Jasmin Raymond

  2. National Resources Canada, Geological Survey of Canada, Calgary, Canada

    Stephen E. Grasby

  3. Northwest Territories Geological Survey, Yellowknife, Canada

    Viktor Terlaky

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  1. Dan David Ngoyo Mandemvo
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  2. Félix-Antoine Comeau
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  3. Jasmin Raymond
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Correspondence to Jasmin Raymond.

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Ngoyo Mandemvo, D.D., Comeau, FA., Raymond, J. et al. Geothermal Potential of Closed Underground Mines: Resource Assessment Study of the Con Mine, Northwest Territories, Canada. Nat Resour Res 32, 1579–1593 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11053-023-10214-3

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