Gold-Producing Plants Are Secretly Growing in RI Lifestyle – 4 hours ago

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – It turns out that plant collections can absorb precious metals, such as gold. This phenomenon has become a hot topic some time ago and has sparked people’s interest in owning one.

For example, the lembang plant (Typha angustifolia). One of these biological resources is a type of plant that can produce gold and absorb various heavy metals contained in the soil. The process goes through a biological food chain.

Bogor Agricultural Institute (IPB) Plant Biologist Hamim explained that plants have a physiological mechanism that makes them have the ability to absorb heavy metals. There are at least several types of plants that are able to absorb large amounts of heavy metals or are hyperaccumulators.

With this ability, according to him, the plant can be used as an environmental cleaning agent, known as phytoremediation.

“This plant can also be used to mine metals that have high economic value such as nickel, silver, gold, platinum and thallium or an activity known as phytomining,” said Hamim, as reported by CNN Indonesia some time ago.

According to him, this gold-producing plant is widely spread in eastern Indonesia, especially Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Maluku and Papua. The areas where this plant grows have high metal content such as serpentine and ultramafic soils.

So far, the potential of hyperaccumulator plants has not been optimally exploited. Therefore, the attention of various parties is needed so that related plants can be used for phytoremediation and phytomining.

For example, the results of plant exploration around the tailings dam (the location of waste left over from separating precious metal ore from non-economic materials) of the PT Antam UBPE Pongkor gold mine. Almost all types of plants there are capable of accumulating gold, even at low levels.

Hamim said that one type of gold-producing plant is the spinach group. The amaranth group that grows around the tailings has the highest gold accumulation capacity, but because its biomass is low, its phytomining potential is also low.

“The Lembang plant (Typha angustifolia) is also quite high in accumulating gold metal (Au). Typha can produce 5-7 grams of gold per hectare. This certainly requires further investigation,” he said.

[Gambas:Video CNBC]

(fab/fab)