ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION IN GOLD MINING SITES IN INDONESIA- A REFERENCE STUDY

The gold mining sector in Indonesia is still facing challenges in achieving sustainable environmental management. The extraction and processing of essential minerals, such as gold, can have negative environmental consequences. For every tonne of gold produced, the following potential global warming effects are observed: 7.34.E+07 kg CO2 equivalent per tonne; freshwater aquatic ecotoxicity: 6.39.E+07 kg 1,4-DB equivalent per tonne. The foremost contributor to global warming impact is the consumption of electricity along with CO2 emissions. Key contributors to freshwater aquatic ecotoxicity include fuel oil, electricity, and Zn ion emissions. The combustion of coal in steam power plants results in the release of byproducts such as CO2, SOx, NOx, and PM2.5. Furthermore, the tailings from these mining operations often have elevated levels of heavy metals, which can greatly endanger the environment due to their contaminating nature. By employing advanced technology like cyclones, bag filters, and scrubbers, it is possible to reduce the emission of harmful gases from power plant emissions. Cyclones function by applying centrifugal force to separate solid particulates from exhaust gas. A bag filter operates as a filtration system designed to effectively capture tiny particles from exhaust gas through mechanical filtering techniques. Scrubbers work by introducing a cleaning solution into the exhaust gas stream, which initiates chemical reactions that transform hazardous gases into less harmful or more manageable molecules. Utilizing alternative liquid biofuels, such as biodiesel, in electrical systems is a vital approach for lessening the environmental footprint of the critical mineral industry. Biodiesel can lower emissions of SO2, particulate matter, and greenhouse gases during combustion compared to traditional fossil fuels like diesel. The use of microbial enhanced recovery methods in bioremediation can help diminish heavy metal concentrations in sediments. This is achieved through the use of microbial cells to concentrate metals using a biosorption approach. Future studies could involve evaluating the environmental performance of implementing cyclone, bag filter, and scrubber technologies in power plant emissions, alongside investigating the use of microbial improved recovery for metal bioremediation in tailings waste processing within Indonesia's critical mineral sector.