Informed by the company, “Magma Energy has received 100,000 hectare Pellado property, 300km south of Santiago, from the government of Chile. Pellado adjoins the Maule property upon which Magma previously reported a 140MW inferred resource.

Slim hole drilling and a magnetotelluric geophysical program carried out by Magma in 2009 discovered a large heat anomaly that straddles the Pellado and Maule properties.

Magma Energy is currently completing a 13km access road that will enable additional drilling to commence in February, 2010. The $15 million 2010 exploration program will include two wells on each of the Pellado and, when granted, Maule properties, plus related work, the company said.

Ross Beaty, chairman and CEO of Magma, said: “Award of the Pellado property now allows Magma to aggressively explore and develop the Mariposa Geothermal Resource.

“This major geothermal discovery by our outstanding Chilean exploration team increases Magma’s geothermal resources to 784MW, in addition to Magma’s producing reserves of 86MW.”

Source: Trading Markets