Determining the Distribution of Nickel Enrichment Zone in Sorowako Area and Surroundings, Nuha District, East Luwu Regency, South Sulawesi

Abstract

The downstream policy forces the nickel mining sector to build new smelters which are claimed to be able to process nickel ore material in the limonite to saprolite zones, so a method is needed to prove the existence of nickel potential in the limonite zone. In this case, the method used is modeling nickel enrichment zone deposits. This research uses collar data of 218 drill points and geological domain data of 8,092 datums. The optimal potential for laterite nickel deposits is explored by entering the geological control of the deposit domain and expressing the nickel enrichment zone model so that the slice volume percentage in the limonite and saprolite zones is known. Based on the results of modeling the nickel enrichment zone in the research area located in Sorowako, South Sulawesi, it shows that the nickel enrichment zone has a volume of 4,190,500 cubic meters (m3). The nickel enrichment zone is known to have no intersection with the bedrock zone, but has an intersection with limonite domains of 33%, and saprolite domains of 67%. As additional information, it is known that the laterite deposits are around 30 meters thick with a nickel enrichment zone at a depth of 10 meters to 25 meters from the surface