Welcome to Chaucer Energy
Chaucer Energy Limited is an Australian resources company specializing in the development and execution of energy projects utilising the technology of In-Situ Gasification (ISG) to produce gas suitable for conversion into low emission electricity and other chemical products.
​
ISG technology has a long history, especially in the Former Soviet Union (FSU).Over the last 30 years, a significant number of demonstrations of the technology have been undertaken in various countries, including Australia.The current challenge is to convert the knowledge from past experience into the development of a commercially profitable project. Chaucer Energy has planned a technical and financial strategy to achieve this goal.
The Company is initially focussed on using stranded coal resources at a number of locations in Chile to develop commercial projects for power generation, gas supply and subsequently for gas conversion to a range of possible chemical products such as urea or methanol.
​
Chaucer Energy completed a detailed review of all coal deposits in Chile, and initially focused on its Concessions granted over a potential coal basin near Maullin in Southern Chile, close to the main town of Puerto Montt, and adjacent to the main north-south power grid – see News items below. However the limited success of initial drilling in this area has led the Company to re-focus on established shallow coal deposits in the Magallan Basin with a resultant minimal exploration risk in establishing a resource suitable for ISG.
​
The Company has prepared a phased development program for introduction of ISG technology into Chile, commencing with an initial project to supply electricity and gas to the Puerto Natales area. The demand for electricity is modest (about 10MW), which meets Chaucer’s plan to minimise investment risk. Further and larger scale development will follow from the necessary detailed project studies to best meet the energy needs of both the Magallanese region and the country.
OUR RECENT NEWS
February 2024
Chaucer Energy has completed the acquisition of an additional four Concessions for its In-Situ Gasification (ISG) Project in Chile, adjacent to the existing four already granted. The Company has now been granted a total Concession area of 2200Ha (22km2) downdip from an established open cut coal resource of 10mt. The selection of these areas has been focussed on the need to minimise the risk in establishing a viable coal resource suitable for future development.
Past drilling had established a 5m coal seam running North-South along strike over a distance of about 5km, and extending down-dip to the Company’s Concessions. If confirmed by a further drilling program, these Concessions would provide a coal resource of sufficient size to host both an initial modest ISG project generating power for the nearby town of Puerto Natales, as well as for the larger long-term projects to meet specific domestic product needs such as Urea.
January 2023
Chaucer Energy has now been granted Exploration Concessions over an area of 12km2 adjacent to an established shallow coal resource of 10mt, and has obtained an independent geological report recommending a drilling program on the Concessions which, if successful, may define a resource suitable for ISG development of approx. 50mt of coal. The Company has also applied for Concessions over an additional area of 12km2 along strike to expand the ISG potential of the area
Magallan Basin Concession Applications - September 2021
Chaucer Energy has completed a detailed review of project opportunities in the Magellan Basin in South Chile, with the intention of defining a prospect with both a high probability of exploration success and a nearby market for ISG gas.
The coal outcrop line in the Basin is some 300km long, running from Punta Arenas in the South to Puerto Natales in the North, and is defined by exploration drilling and a number of coal mines, including the Invierno Mine on Isla Riesco. A new potential project area has been defined 15km south of Puerto Natales, with existing exploration drilling data over a limited area defining a resource of around 10Mt to 100m depth, with a coal seam thickness of 4m-6m.
Chaucer Energy has applied for new Concessions covering 12 sq.km adjacent to this resource, an area sufficient to provide a potential ISG gas supply sufficient to service the existing electricity and heating needs of Puerto Natales (approx. 55MW equivalent), with the potential for later expansion. As a result of this refocus of activities, Chaucer has dropped all existing Concessions as being less attractive than this newly emerged target.
​
Exploration Drilling Program Update – May 2021
Chaucer Energy has completed the two-hole drilling program at its Maullin Concessions in Chile. Both holes intersected thin coal seams, and established the presence of coal in the Maullin basin.
However none of the intersections were found suitable for application of the ISG process.
The Company has been made aware of another well researched coal deposit in South Chile which potentially may be suitable for the ISG process without the exploration risk associated with its existing Concessions at Maullin, Isla Riesco and Rio Perez. The Company is currently in a process of data collection for this deposit, and the evaluation of a number of options for ongoing development.
Drilling Program – April 2021
Following the completion of a recent capital raising, Chaucer Energy Ltd will undertake a two hole preliminary-exploration drilling program on its coal Concessions near the town of Maullin in Southern Chile.
The purpose of the drilling campaign is to establish the presence of coal as indicated by data obtained from historic oil and gas wells drilled adjacent to the Concession and from regional magnetic and gravimetric surveys over the area.
Success from this drilling program would enable the Company to plan a further drilling program with the intent of establishing a JORC resource as the basis for the development of its planned ISG/Power Project.
Chilean Government Advice on ISG
In the period to March 2020, Chaucer Energy received letters from three Government Agencies in Chile confirming that an ISG project would be subject to the same regulatory processes as any other mining project in the Country, and that a precedent for ISG had been set with environmental approval having been given in 2010 for another ISG project, which has yet to be advanced.
Chilean Government Support for ISG
In March 2019, the Chilean Government launched a special report at the Toronto Mining Conference (PDAC) outlining 25 opportunities for exploration and mining in Chile. Chaucer Energy’s prospective Maullin ISG/Power project was one of them.