MINING TYRES
Treading carefully
With the mining market now looking healthy, mining tyre
demand has followed suit, reports Paul Moore. But it is a
complex market, with new factors to consider such as tyre
performance in autonomous fleet operations
lobal demand for mining tyres is
currently strong which in some sizes and
regions has led to a tighter supply
situation. Tony Cutler, Principal at mining tyre
consultancy OTR Global told IM: “Earthmover
tyre global supply remains tight, especially in
the largest 57 in and 63 in sizes, and for some
smaller sizes the situation is worse such as in
the 33.00R51 and 23.5R25 sizes where there is a
severe shortage, and in the 27.00R49 size
where it is serious but improving.”
In the crucial 63 in tyre size (53/80R63,
56/80R63 & 59/80R63) used on all of the
largest ultraclass haul trucks – the market is
still dominated by Michelin and Bridgestone
due to their proven tyre life performance at
numerous sites – putting additional production
demand on these two producers, though
Goodyear is now also active in this market.
Cutler says the situation is similar for the 57
in tyre size (37.00R57, 40.00R57, 46/90R57 &
50/80R57) with the difference being that in this
size Goodyear tyres along with the other two
have market share as they offer competitive
performance in many applications, but apart
from that the 57 in size still remains a step-too-
far for most alternative manufacturers. “In
smaller sizes up to 51 in, Bridgestone, Michelin
and Goodyear remain the ‘Big Three,’ with
second-tier manufacturers offering varying
levels of competitiveness.”
Cutler believes that there is still some extra
production capacity to be tapped from the main
manufacturers but that should be realised by
the end of calendar year 2019. “They remain
reluctant, though, to further expand existing
plants or to build new manufacturing facilities.
If global mining activity and earthmover tyre
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46 International Mining | JULY 2019
requirements remain high (Chinese demand for
mine commodities remains the key determinant
of this) then, unless the principal manufacturers
commit to either factory expansion or new
factories, demand for earthmover tyres will
continue to outstrip supply especially for 220 t
to ultraclass haul trucks.”
The OTR supplier view
Talking to the Big Three themselves, therefore
focussing on a supplier viewpoint, the situation
is very positive. Jaye Young, Mining Business
Line – Marketing Director, Michelin told IM:
“We feel that the mining market in total is
forecasted for steady growth. We saw positive
indicators of this in 2018 with an increase
commodity production since 2016, and a rise in
investments in exploration by top miners.
Mining tyre consumption is driven by
commodity output. Over the next five years, we
Goodyear says a growing number of mining
customers are using its EMTrack system to
optimise their tyre performance and help drive
down their operating costs
see a steady increase in commodity output,
which should drive tyre consumption. Global
demand for surface mining tyres (49 in and
greater) remains strong, and Michelin is working
diligently to supply our customers with the tyres
they need.”
Nick Davis, Senior Product Marketing
Manager, Goodyear states: “The increase in
demand globally is driving strong demand for
our premium products in all sizes, up to ultra-
large 63 in tyres, as well as our technologies,
which – combined with the services and
solutions we offer – can help enhance mine
equipment performance while lowering
operating costs.”
Tim Netzel, Director of Marketing, Off-the-
Road (OTR), US & Canada, Bridgestone
Americas Tyre Operations (BATO) told IM: “The
off-the-road (OTR) replacement tyre market
ended on a positive note in 2018 and we have
seen it remain healthy for the first half of 2019.
Specifically, the surface mining market
continues to be stable year-over-year, and we
are optimistic about the construction and
aggregates segments. Both the OTR original
equipment (OE) and replacement tyre segments
have benefitted from the mining market upturn.
As demand for large off-the-road tyres grows,
Bridgestone is making long-term investments to
increase capacity and capability at the
company’s off-road-radial tire manufacturing
facilities to ensure customers have access to
best-in-class products that meet their evolving
needs.”
Moving on to other up and coming players,
Lucia Salmaso, Managing Director of BKT Europe,
part of Indian headquartered BKT told IM:
“Basically, we can observe continuous growth in
the OTR sector – a ‘plus’ that will certainly
Michelin recently introduced the MICHELIN ® XDR ® 3 surface mine haul tyre in size 27.00R49