Wairakei Geothermal Power Project 40th Anniversary: Geology and Hydrothermal Alteration

Abstract

Geological exploration of the Wairakei geothermal field dates from the inception of the scheme in 1949. By 1953 the first set of exploratory wells, from 175m to 975m deep, had been drilled along a roughly SEW line from near the present power station across the northern sides of the current Eastern and Western borefields, and the Te Mihi area (Fig. 1). This was the D-line, and the wells were sited by James (Jim) Healy, who along with George W. Grindley and Alfred Steiner (all of the New Zealand Geological Survey) were largely responsible for setting up the geological and structural framework of Wairakei geothermal field.