MINING TYRES to reduce risks to team members , who have received highly skilled training .
OTR tyre recycling in Chile has recently been passed into law . Starting in 2023 through 2026 , 25 % of mining tyres must be recycled , this increases to 75 % as of 2027 , and to 100 % as of 2030 . Existing piles of scrap tyres are the responsibility of mines , and given the size and maturity of mines in Chile – a world leader in large-scale open-cast mining – there are many tyres awaiting this next step . With commissioning of the second reactornearly complete , Kal Tire aims to be in full production this summer , recycling 20,000 kg of tyres each day .
“ The lessons we have learned along this journey have been invaluable ,” says Allan . “ What we now have is a scalable plant and can add reactors if we choose to . We also certainly support others looking to be a part of recycling end-of-life tyres in Chile – and we hope the same high standards of safety and engineering will be applied .”
This is a second significant step Kal Tire has taken in prioritising and supporting environmental stewardship for its customers . In 2019 , the organisation announced the development and certification of a carbon calculator that determines how much fuel and carbon emissions a customer saves by retreading OTR tyres compared to buying new . The Maple Program is how it is presented to customers , using the data to award them one to five maple leafs according to either tonnage retreaded or the percentage of fleet running retreads .
“ Retreading is also an official option of the new Chilean tyre recycling law ,” says Pacheco . “ Providing our customers with sustainable solutions is something we ’ re committed to . Retreading reduces a tyre ’ s total cost of ownership , reduces the impact on the environment , and now the Maple Program can provide those quantifiable fuel and carbon emission savings to a customer that can be used in corporate reporting .”
IM had the chance to talk with Scott Farnham , Project Manager , Recycling Services at Kal Tire ’ s Mining Tire Group with responsibility for their new OTR recycling plant in Chile , who emphasised the pioneering aspect of the project . “ We ’ ve got quite a headstart – we made the plunge before the law was really fomented in Chile as we could see it coming . It has certainly taken a lot of work but we are happy to now have a working plant , not just a concept . As a company , we really care about innovation and we have made the investment before any others .”
On progress , there is a wet test first : “ We constructed and assembled the whole plant , commmissioned every system and then we tested the reactors filled with water first , which allows us to check the integrity of the whole process without using combustible materials . Now we are putting tyres through of course and getting into regular production . Line one is online and we are just finishing commissioning line two .”
In terms of confirmed and potential customers , Antofagasta Minerals ’ Los Pelambres mine has been a valuable partner who have supplied over 500 scrap ultra class tyres : “ They and we are very excited to get it going . Recycling and sustainability are top of everyone ’ s agenda now .” All mines have the same issue – a lot of often buried tyres from decades of production . And some mines are also running out of space . “ So we are ready to work with anyone that needs a solution . Our goal is to provide services to our mining tyre customers when they have a problem .”
There is such a backlog of legacy tyres that Kal Tire ’ s ultimate plan is to scale up when practical . “ The legislation doesn ’ t come into effect until 2023 but we have had a lot of discussions and interest from the miners outside of that . In 2023 it starts with 25 % of incoming OTR tyres having to be recycled then it ups to 75 % and finally 100 % over the following years .”
Some years have passed since the project was first mooted so why has it taken so long ? “ First off these tyres are a challenge in themselves – 4 m in diameter and 4,500 kg each . They are also built to last so are designed to not disintegrate easily . This plant is designed only for mining tyres and since this hadn ’ t been done before outside of mainly car and truck tyres , we had to develop some novel engineering solutions from the ground up .”
And momentum is now building fast on the demand side for the materials too . “ We ’ ve had some discussions with major tyre OEMs as well as other companies like conveyor belt and plastic pipe manufacturers , in terms of reusing the recycled materials . Unlike when we began this project , companies are looking to achieve a circular economy now and a reduction of GHG emissions . So the demand is not the issue – we just need to make the quality and consistency of the recycled products equal to existing products so that manufacturers can incorporate this new material into their products .”
All pyrolysis of tyres works on the same basis of heat and absence of oxygen to break down the tyre into its constituent components . “ But there are also challenges afterwards – what can you do to those materials to get them to a quality and consistency that companies can use . This takes a lot of technology and fine adjustments plus input from industry collaborators to get right . Kal Tire is in a pretty unique position also , being an important OTR tyre retreader , so there are also opportunities there for the recycled materials .”
So if all goes well in Chile , can this plant serve as a blueprint for others in other mining hubs ? “ Colombia is a good example , they have patterned their mining tyre recycling legislation after Chile ’ s , as has Peru . Australia will be a very important market for this as well .”
What about having these plants actually on large minesites , being built and operated by Kal Tire ? “ Depending on the size of the mine it might make sense to have a dedicated facility onsite or right outside the mines property , especially if some of the co-products could be used on site . It is early days yet but I am sure these conversations will come .”
FLOTATION ’ 21
8-11 November , 2021 | Online
Sponsored by : Promet101 , Maelgwyn Mineral Services , Magotteaux- Gold Ore , CiDRA Minerals Processing , Hudbay Minerals , Senmin , Clariant , BASF , Eriez , Nouryon , Festo , FLSmidth , International Mining & Critical Minerals Association
COMMINUTION ‘ 22
25-28 April 2022 | Online
Sponsored by : King ’ s Ceramics & Chemicals , Russell Mineral Equipment , Keramos , Starkey & Associates , Grinding Solutions , Glencore Technology , ME Elecmetal , Derrick Corp ., ZEISS , Hudbay Minerals , Magotteaux , Metso : Outotec , Sino Grinding International , FLSmidth , - Cancha , Dakot , Maelgwyn Mineral Services , International Mining , Imformed , CEEC and the Critical Minerals Association .
PHYSICAL SEPARATION ‘ 22
June 2022 | Falmouth , UK & Online
Sponsored by : CEEC , International Mining , Imformed , Cornwall Mining Alliance & Critical Minerals Association
INTEGRATEDMINPRO ‘ 22
June 2022 | Falmouth , UK & Online
Sponsored by : ProMet101 , International Mining , Cornwall Mining Alliance , & Critical Minerals Association
www . min-eng . com / conferences /
JULY 2021 | International Mining 65