Evaluating Alternative Sources of Powering Thermomat for Gold Extraction in Ghana: A Multi-criteria Decision-making Perspective

Gold has a substantial economic worth; it is an indispensable economic commodity for investment, sensitive electronic design and applications. Nonetheless, both the adverse environmental impacts and high cost of operations emanating from the complex processes engulfing gold extraction inevitably endorses the need to adopt sustainable energy inputs. This study therefore evaluates alternative sources of power for thermomat operations in gold extraction in Ghana. The main purpose of the study was to evaluate the performance of diesel, LPG and electricity as existing sources of powering thermomat for gold extraction in Ghana. The main method applied is the multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) model. Two new recalling techniques were introduced to enhance symmetrical and fair distribution of scores across datasets. Aggregate weighted normalized scores (AWNS) were computed using quantitative data collected via questionnaire administration and desk search methods. Both quantitative and historical designs were used. A sample size of 563 comprising 60 from the top-management stratum, 3 from stakeholder stratum was obtained through convenient sampling; and 500 from the inhabitant stratum through simple random sampling. It was discovered that LPG presents the best power alternative with the highest AWNS of 1 in respect of economic feasibility, while electricity ranks the best power source with highest AWNS of 0.82 and 1 subject to environmental impacts and regulatory and policy implications respectively. LPG ranks the best power source with highest average AWNS of 0.8241 for all consolidated criteria. This research therefore, has essential implications for sustainability in mining operations and environment.