Spring Water Geochemistry: A Geothermal Exploration Tool in the Rhenohercynian Fold-and-Thrust Belt in Belgium

Spring water geochemistry is applied here to evaluate the geothermal potential in Rhenohercynian fold and thrust belt around the deepest borehole in Belgium (Havelange borehole: 5648 m MD). Fifty springs and (few) wells around Havelange borehole were chosen according to a multicriteria approach including the hydrothermal source of “Chaudfontaine” (T ≈ 36 °C) taken as a reference for the area. The waters sampled, except Chaudfontaine present an in-situ T range of 3.66–14.04 °C (mean 9.83 °C) and a TDS (dry residue) salinity range of 46–498 mg/L. The processing methods applied to the results are: hierarchical clustering, Piper and Stiff diagrams, TIS, heat map, boxplots, and geothermometry. Seven clusters are found and allow us to define three main water types. The first type, locally called “pouhon”, is rich in Fe and Mn. The second type contains an interesting concentration of the geothermal indicators: Li, Sr, Rb. Chaudfontaine and Moressée (≈5 km East from the borehole) belong to this group. This last locality is identified as a geothermal target for further investigations. The third group represents superficial waters with frequently high NO₃ concentration. The application of conventional geothermometers in this context indicates very different reservoir temperatures. The field of applications of these geothermometers need to be review in these geological conditions.