Churchill County, 1,920 acres
Ignis Energy has secured and advanced its 1,920-acre Upsal Hogback geothermal lease in Churchill County, Nevada, following successful due diligence and completion of 74 magnetotelluric (MT) survey stations. Interpretation confirmed conductive zones aligned with known volcanic vents—supporting the presence of a concealed geothermal system.
The Upsal Hogback area lies within the southern Carson Sink, a structurally active basin bounded by the Stillwater Range to the east and the Sierra Nevada to the west. This region occupies the junction of the Walker Lane shear zone and the Humboldt Lineament—zones of crustal extension and lithospheric thinning that have produced numerous geothermal systems. Neighboring volcanic centers include the active Soda Lakes geothermal field and Rattlesnake Hill, underscoring the area’s proven heat flow and reservoir potential.
Upsal Hogback itself is a late-Quaternary phreatomagmatic tuff cone, shaped by explosive water–magma interaction during the history of glacial Lake Lahontan. The volcano’s morphology and young age (<25 ka) mark it as one of the youngest volcanic features in western Nevada, directly linked to the same asthenospheric intraplate processes that drive the region’s geothermal activity.
With the initial lease term secured through 2031, Ignis Energy’s Upsal Hogback project adds another strategically positioned geothermal asset to its U.S. portfolio—anchored within a proven high-heat-flow corridor already hosting multiple operating power plants.
