A Acid mine drainage (amd) is a major environmental issue in the mining industry, characterized by low ph and high concentrations of heavy metals such as iron (fe), manganese (mn), and total suspended solids (tss). this study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of activated carbon derived from sub-bituminous coal, modified with a mixed chemical activator of zinc chloride (zncl2) and phosphoric acid (h3po4), in reducing heavy metals in artificial amd. the research employed an experimental method involving the preparation of two activated carbon compositions: ka1 (60% coal, 20% zncl2, 20% h3po4) and ka2 (50% coal, 25% zncl2, 25% h3po4). the activation process was followed by carbonization at 650°c. material characterization included proximate analysis, iodine number, brunauer-emmett-teller (bet), and fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (ftir). adsorption tests were conducted on artificial amd using varying adsorbent dosages with a contact time of 30 minutes.characterization results indicated that ka2 possessed better physical properties with a bet surface area of 161.610 m2/g and a fixed carbon content of 66%, compared to ka1. however, adsorption tests revealed that ka1 was chemically superior in treat the wastewater. at initial concentrations of 11.41 mg/l for fe and 5.51 mg/l for mn, the use of ka1 at optimum dosage successfully reduced fe levels by 97.98% and mn levels by 99.82%. in contrast, ka2 was less effective in reducing metals at high concentrations. furthermore, the ability of both adsorbents to raise the solution ph from acidic conditions is relatively low. it is concluded that the quality of water treated using ka1 meets the environmental quality standards in accordance with the regulation of the minister of environment and forestry number 5 of 2022, with final consentrations of fe below 7 mg/l and mn below 4 mg/l at dosages 2 gram with a contact time of 30 minutes.