CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LATERITE SOIL PROFILE OF NORTH KONAWE REGIONS, SOUTHEAST SULAWESI

KARAKTERISTIK PROFIL TANAH LATERIT DAERAH KONAWE UTARA SULAWESI TENGGARA

Abstract

Nickel is an important material that is widely needed in the industrial sector. Administratively, it is located in the villages of Molore and Lameruru, Langgikima District, North Konawe Regency, Southeast Sulawesi Province, which has a measurable reserve in the Molore pit which is much smaller than using reserves in Lameruru. Saprolite and bedrock and to compare the distribution of Ni in the Molore and Lameruru areas and to determine the characteristics of the laterite soil profile, it is also necessary to come from previous data from previous studies, such as regional geological data in the field and X-Ray Fluorescence analysis output data, because this research is a research study. The source is based on a literature study. From the appearance of igneous rocks, namely ultramafic rocks are consisting of lherzolite, wehrilite, olivine, websterite and peridotite have changed to form laterite nickel deposits. At the same time, sedimentary rocks consist of conglomerate, sandstone, and claystone. The impurity mineral elements in lateritic soils are quartz, calcite, and geotite. Based on X-Ray Fluorescence analysis of chemical elements, namely, in the Limonite Zone, the Ni content is approximately 0.18% - 1.53%, in the Saprolite Zone the Ni element has an increase of about 1.02% - 3.5%, while in Bedrock the Ni content is getting smaller around 0.25% - 0.59% for the Lameruru area. In the Molore area, the Limonite Zone, the Ni content is around 1.04% - 1.67%, in the Saprolite Zone, the element Ni has an increase of about 0.75% - 2.12%, while in Bedrock, the Ni content is getting smaller by about 0.48% - 0,9%. It is known that the distribution of Ni in the Laterite Zone in the Lameruru area is more significant than in the Molore area.