Aurora, Nevada

The Aurora site is located 20 miles southwest of Hawthorne near the California/Nevada border.  Since the mid-1880s the Aurora area has attracted attention as a mining district.  Geothermal resources often coincide with mining because many precious metal deposits were formed by hydrothermal deposition in ore veins.

An estimated $2.6 million of prior exploration work was completed in the area.  Dr. Jim Combs estimated the Vulcan properties can produce from 132 MW to 350 MW.

The Vulcan geothermal prospect consists of two distinct blocks of 30,000 acres of lease applications.  One 7,000 acre area in the southern block was the site of 17 temperature gradient wells which indicated a large geothermal heat anomaly.  The rocks exposed in the area are of volcanic origin.  The youngest flows are black vesicular basalts of Quaternary age.  Faulting has been the major structural element in the area.

The Aurora site is intersected by the 3,100 MW Pacific DC Intertie high voltage transmission line right of way and a transmission line of Sierra Pacific giving the Aurora project multiple transmission route options.