Saving tyres from early retirement

The 2006 shortage of heavy mobile equipment (HME) tyres prompted Rio Tinto to set up its own retreading facility in Perth, Australia as a lynchpin of its integrated tyre management strategy.

At this time, mining companies were seeing the first signs that manufacturers could not keep pace with demand for large earthmover tyres. In order to ensure that production, particularly of iron ore, was not adversely affected by the shortage of this essential component, Rio Tinto looked to what it could do to alleviate the supply chain constraints, while also aligning with the Group's sustainable development objectives.

Since 2006 the facility has retreaded more than 400 HME tyres, adding over 250,000 additional operating hours for tyres that would otherwise have been retired. The facility retreaded 175 tyres in 2008 and has a capacity for 800 tyres if worked on double shift.

Track record

Now the facility has celebrated its most significant achievement to date - a long life record by one of its huge retreaded tyres.

The tyre had already completed 73,000 kms of service in its first life, and after having been given a new lease of life, the retreaded tyre was fitted to one of RTIO's dump trucks in the Pilbara, where it carried a total weight of up to 500 tonnes.

The 57" earth mover tyre retreaded at the facility clocked up 5,500 hours of continuous service at one of the most demanding mining environments on the planet. This is equivalent to 75,000km, or five times the distance between Perth and London. What's more, it has done this at a cost per kilometre 25 per cent cheaper than a new tyre. This milestone served as a reminder of the economic and environmental benefits that retreading can bring.

OTR Tyres Australia, the company that manages and operates the site for Rio Tinto, said this achievement "sets new standards in large earth mover retreads by pushing the limits of retreads to compete with new tyres."

There are many more retreaded tyres in service and waiting to be fitted at the Group's mines around Australia, and Rio Tinto Tyre's management expects that it will soon exceed this recent record.