PTR MINERALS LTD — Capital/Financing Update 2007

Nov 19, 2007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tuesday, 20 November 2007

COALITION SHOWS CONFIDENCE IN

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY AND PETRATHERM

"The Federal Coalition has today demonstrated its ongoing commitment to the development of geothermal energy by supporting the acceleration of the most commercially advanced geothermal project in Australia, Petratherm's Paralana project – a joint venture with Beach Petroleum - in South Australia's northern Flinders Ranges", according to Petratherm's Managing Director Terry Kallis.

"Geothermal energy is a vital plank in Australia's shift towards clean energy. We have potentially one of the world's best geothermal energy resources. The aim is to prove that the technology can deliver baseload energy at low cost. Today's announcement brings that shift one step closer" Mr Kallis said in Adelaide today.

"The Federal Coalition has today confirmed its strong support for the industry and for Petratherm's approach in announcing that Petratherm will receive an election commitment of a $50M grant to commercialise its Paralana joint venture project with Beach Petroleum and build a 30MW plant to deliver electricity into the local market.

Petratherm is one of the geothermal energy industry's leaders. It has strategically identified and secured:

• Commercial partners to enhance its strong geological skill base;
• A unique approach to resource exploitation that minimises overall project costs;
• Potential customers for its energy output as it scales up the Paralana project; and
• International projects in Spain and China where there are known geothermal resources, close to large markets and strong government support.

"Petratherm's approach includes securing customers for the demonstration and commercialisation phases of its plant scale up and the Federal Coalition has recognized the importance of this approach and that Petratherm's overall strategy is likely to deliver early results", Mr Kallis said.

"The announcement also recognizes the importance of the industry's activity in South Australia where the Company, in collaboration with the University of Adelaide, has developed a globally acknowledged expertise in the geological, hydrological and chemical aspects of the industry and where the industry has received support from the South Australian Government.

issued through FIELD PUBLIC RELATIONS PTY LTD ABN 74 008 222 311 231 South Road, MILE END SA 5031 Ph: 08 8234 9555 Fax: 08 8234 9566 admin@fieldpr.com.au

"Petratherm recognizes the strong support that it and other companies in the industry have received from government to accelerate progress across the industry which includes $5M funding from the Renewable Energy Development Initiative (REDI) and the establishment of the Geothermal Industry Development Framework and the Geothermal Energy Technology Roadmap process by the Department of Industry, Tourism and Resources (DITR).

"Today's announcement builds on the Government support for Petratherm to demonstrate its technology and to take Petratherm's approach to China through the Asia Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate" Mr Kallis said today.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Terry Kallis Kevin Skinner (08) 8274 5000 (08) 8234 9555 0419 810 153 0414 822 631

Petratherm Limited Field Public Relations

JOINT MEDIA RELEASE

Malcolm Turnbull Alexander Downer Ian Macfarlane Minister for the Minister for Foreign Affairs Minister for Industry, Environment and Water Resources Tourism and Resources

20 November 2007

SA TO BENEFIT FROM CLEAN ENERGY BOOST

South Australia is set to become a 'clean energy' state with new support for low-emissions technology projects under a re-elected Coalition Government.

Significant investments in geothermal, wave and clean coal and gas projects were announced today by the Coalition Government and include:

• a $50 million grant for Petratherm's 'hot rocks' geothermal demonstration and commercialisation project;
• a $20 million grant for Perth-based Cool Energy's demonstration of 'cryo-cell' technology to capture CO2 from gas processing in South Australia;
• a National Research Institute for Geothermal Energy to lead research on geothermal energy technology;
• a $5 million grant for Perth-based company Carnegie Corporation to develop its wave energy demonstration plant in South Australia; and
• $10 million for the Moomba carbon storage project to undertake a study and further technical work on CO2 storage in the Cooper Basin.

"Today's announcement will provide a boost to South Australia which is in a unique position to pursue and demonstrate the possibilities of a clean energy future," Mr Downer said.

"The State is endowed with a wealth of renewable and low-emissions energy sources, from solar through to wind, geothermal, and wave energy potential. Today's announcement builds on these strengths."

The Ministers congratulated Petratherm and Cool Energy on their projects being allocated $50 million and $20 million, respectively.

"Geothermal or hot rocks energy is the one of the most exciting new technologies in the world. It promises to deliver base-load power without any greenhouse gas emissions," Mr Macfarlane said.

Petratherm plans to build a 30 megawatt geothermal power station at Paralana in the Flinders Ranges, costing $152 million. Over time, as the technology is proven, Petratherm expects to increase generation to at least 512 megawatts.

"The Coalition has already committed $32 million to kickstart the industry. Another $75 million has been set aside for a fund supporting new clean energy technologies such as geothermal and wave.

The Ministers said the new National Research Institute for Geothermal Energy will build on this support and help to accelerate the development of geothermal technologies in Australia.

"The Coalition has also committed to support Australia's first commercial carbon capture and storage project," Mr Turnbull said.

Cool Energy has developed an innovative new technology which separates CO2 from natural gas so the CO2 can be stored rather than released into the atmosphere.

"Cool Energy's technology, called CyroCell, removes CO2 from natural gas used for electricity generation and industrial applications so the CO2 can then be stored long-term by geosequestration," Mr Turnbull said.

After successful field trials, Cool Energy now plans to build a $105 million commercial gas processing plant in SA's Cooper Basin using the CryoCell technology. The plant is planned to commence in 2009 and will be Australia's first commercial carbon capture and storage project.

A re-elected Coalition Government will provide $20 million toward the cost of Cool Energy's demonstration plant, subject to a matching contribution from the SA Government.

The Ministers said the Coalition's commitment to support further development of wave energy and carbon storage potential in the Cooper Basin was a demonstration of the Coalition's forward-looking plan to harness a variety of forms of clean energy.

The South Australian package of clean energy projects is part of the Coalition's clean energy plan for Australia.

Media Contact:	Mr Turnbull's office: Brad Burke 0400 337 252
	Mr Macfarlane's office: Claire Wilkinson 0419 840 452
	Mr Downer's office: Malcolm Cole 0408 612 603