Interest in the economic development of geothermal energy has been restricted to Tarapaca and Antofagasta Provinces (18°00^primeS to 24°00^primeS) in northern Chile, where the energy requirements for industrial and mining purposes must be supplied by conventional thermal electric plants. These plants have been operated chiefly with imported oil.

Since 1968 the project to investigate the geothermal resources of the region has been carried on by the "Corporacion de Fomento de la Produccion" of Chile and the United Nations Development Program.

Geothermal investigations started with a detailed account of the thermal-springs areas of both provinces, and the most attractive geothermal areas were selected for further systematic surveys. The most important areas selected are from north to south: Jurase, Suriri, Puchuldiza, and El Tatio; all of them are in the High Cordillera of the Andes, at an elevation of about 4,300 m in areas dominated by volcanic rocks of late Tertiary and Quaternary age.

Geologic, geophysical, and geochemical investigations have been carried out at Puchuldiza and El Tatio geothermal fields. At El Tatio, six exploration holes (4 in. diameter) were drilled to a depth of 600-700 m.

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These holes showed a promising geothermal potential and a first program of seven to ten production drill holes was undertaken to obtain enough steam to install a geothermal power plant with an initial capacity of 25 or 50 M. W. The possibility of freshwater production from this field also has been considered.

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