Webinar – Prospects for mine-based geothermal energy in Australia, 25 September 2025

Webinar - Mine-Based Geothermal Energy: Lessons from Abroad and Prospects for Australia (source: Calistemon, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Carlo Cariaga 22 Sep 2025

Registration is currently open for a webinar to be hosted by the Australian Geothermal Association on “Mine-Based Geothermal Energy: Lessons from Abroad and Prospects for Australia.” Attendance to this webinar is free for all.

The details of the event are as follows:

• Date: 25 September 2025, 12:00 to 1:00 PM AWST
• Speaker: Dr Pabasara Wanniarachchige, Senior Lecturer, University of Wollongong
• Registration: Register via this link

In this talk, the emerging field of mine-based geothermal energy will be explored, focusing on how consistent thermodynamic conditions found in mine environments can be harnessed for heating and cooling applications. Selected international case studies from the Netherlands, Canada, and the UK will be examined, highlighting key technical challenges, such as resource assessment and thermal energy transfer.

The analysis will also feature a geospatial analysis, illustrating how Australian mining regions could leverage this technology, with a focus on converting decommissioned mines into sustainable energy sources.

Dr Pabasara Wanniarachchige is a lecturer in geotechnical engineering at the School of Civil Mining Environmental and Architecture Engineering of the University of Wollongong. She received her PhD from Monash University in 2018. Her research interests include geomechanics applications for deep and shallow geothermal extraction and waste utilization for geotechnical engineering applications.

She is a recipient of the 2024 Discovery Early Career Research Award from the Australian Research Council which supports her current research focus on investigating “Geothermal heat recovery and energy storage from underground mines”.