Taupo's Thermal Resources: Boring Activities

Taupo Times, Volume I, Issue 2, 23 January 1952, Page 1

Taupo's Thermal Resources: Boring Activities

[Wednesday, January 16th.] The deepest steam bore yet drilled by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research at Wairakei was "blown off" at 9.45 a.m. today. This six inch bore is down to a depth of fifteen hundred feet, and is situated near other bores in the wife-netted compound between the old and new Rotorua roads adjacent to the Hotel Wairakei. From its initial appearance it would seem that the steam from the bore is drier than that from previous bore in the area. There was'an atmosphere of tense expectation amongst the crowd of spectators, when the men at the extension valve control a few feet from the vent pipe were given the word to open the bore. As they hurriedly tiirned the valve wheel there were spurts of muddy water to a height of thirty or forty feet, quickly followed a roaring column of billowing steam which in a few instants was rocketing to a height of a couple of hundred feet. As the men got away from the violence they had unleashed the column darkened with rocky debris and the note of the bore turned to a menacing vibratory tone which drove spectators hurriedly further back. A dog which had hitherto appeared somewhat nonchalant departed in haste. Fragments of rock of varying size up to two and a half inches across hurtled skyward and fell a hundred yards away, many bouncing three or four feet as they hit the ground, while smaller pieces fell near the bore. Spectators who warily ran to pick these up were seen to discard them hurriedly, finding them too hot to hold. Six or eight minutes after the opening there was a sudden slackening in force and volume of steam, and it was apparent that there was a partial blockage. In the following hour the bore irregularly decreased in violence as blockages of varying degree occurred and were blown out, each clearance being preceded by a deepening of the sound of the bore which in turn would be followed by the violent emission of a dark core of aebris in the the whirling steam column and the fall a few seconds later of more rock fragments. To observers well acquainted with the phenomena of the thermal regions it was apparent that apart from vents in the craters of White Island, Ruapehu or Ngauruhoe there is no natural fumarole in the district that can equal as a spectacle the man-made bores of Wairakei. , Private Ventures An historic event in the progress of Taupo was the recent successful drilling of two geothermal steam bores for Messrs J. W. Birnie Ltd., at the Spa Hotel. The work was carried out by Messrs Sinclair and Yates Ltd., of Taupo, and resulted in steam being secured at 226 feet in No. 1 bore, situated behind the hotel office, and at 246 feet in No. 2 bore, in rear of the building block behind Pink Bath. The bores are the first commercial steam bores in Taupo. No. 1 bore has Feen tested by officers of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research engaged in the Wairakei geothermal project, and shows a maximum dryness of 94 per cent with a pressure of 54 lbs to the square inch. It provides 3,300,000 British thermal units per hour, indicating that it could heat two thousand gallons from cold to boiling point in sixty minutes. It is proposed to utilise the bore by means of heat exchangers to provide hot water for use throughout the hotel, which is to be modernised with hot and cold water

in bedrooms and the addition of new bathrooms, while No. 2 bore will be used for central heating. Following the successful drilling of the above steam bores preparations are already in hand for another bore. Messrs Sinclair and Yates Ltd., inform us that they have been instucted by Messrs Tuck Bros Ltd., of Taupo, to drill for steam on their property in Golf Links Road. It is proposed to use the steam, should the project be successful, for seasoning timber and for power purposes in connection with the timber industry. ! A ramp has been constructed close to the road, near the junction of the j Spa Road and the Golf Links Road, , and on this the drilling rig will be ; | set up. The purpose of the ramp is ! j to have sufficient height above ground I j to emf^le the installation of a "blow 1 out" preventer. This means that if steam blows," but at a pressure or volume that is not considered sufficient, the drilling can be continued to a greater depth while the steam is I by-passed through a horizontal pipe. ! The rig will be set up to drill to a ! , depth of a thousand feet if necessary. • In view of the site chosen in relation to the thermal activity in the gorge of the Waikato River, and conI sidering the temperatures found in neighbouring water bores, it is considered that prospects of obtaining . steam are good.