MINING TYRES
To get some insight into the Maple Program – IM spoke to Darren Flint , VP Europe and West Africa , and Tyre Lifetime Services , Kal Tire ’ s Mining Tire Group
Q Would you say that customers today are showing much more of an interest in quantifying the environmental benefits of retreading and Ultra Repair since the Maple Program was introduced ? If yes , why do think this is ? A Yes customers are now asking for how we can help them reduce their carbon footprint . Since the program ’ s launch in 2019 we ’ ve seen a strong increase in interest from customers . The main difference , particularly over the last 12 months is customers actively approaching us about the program and asking questions on how renewing and extending the life of tyres through retread and Ultra Repair , can carry environmental benefits for their business and meet their sustainability goals .
Q What does a customer have to do in terms of data sharing and participation to join the Maple Program ? A The Maple Program is only available to our contracted customers and in most cases we already track the necessary fleet data required to calculate the annual rating , through TOMS , our proprietary Tire Operations Management System . This includes detail on the fleet , tyre types and sizes in operation , and the total number of retreads and / or Ultra Repairs performed over a calendar year . These are compared against the total retreadable or Ultra-Repairable tyres to calculate the annual rating – this is shown as either the percentage of the fleet or the total tons of rubber that have used our sustainable tyre solutions , depending on the regional preference .
Q Is the Maple Program now available to your customers worldwide ? A It ’ s available to any contracted Kal Tire customer who is using either our retreading or Ultra Repair processes . Thanks to the addition of our Ultra Repair process last year , we were able to open up the program to other major regions as we operate a dozen repair centres internationally , alongside our six retread facilities in North America , Latin America , Europe and Africa .
Q Can tyre recycling also be factored into Maple Program performance ? A Our low-emission thermal conversion process in Chile safely recycles tyres back to their original components , which carries general environmental benefits vs . stockpiling or disposal / landfill . Another benefit is that the low-emission production of steel , oil and carbon black from recycled tires can emit many times less CO 2 than the new production of these commodities . We ’ re investigating how this could benefit our customers through the Maple Program in the future .
Q Has the Maple Program been applied to date in both surface and underground mining tyre repair applications ? A The program is continually
Kal Tire ' s Maple Progam was rolled evolving to appeal to as many of out in Chile then the UK and then our customers as possible . other key mining tyre consumption
Currently we are working with regions surface mining customers but look forward to applying this to our underground customers as well .
Q How does the Maple Program actually quantify environmental performance ? A New tyre production requires large amounts of raw materials , such as natural and synthetic rubber , high-grade steel , oil and carbon black . In larger sizes , this can amount to many tons of material in a single tyre . When added to the energy required to build and cure new tyres , we can clearly see the benefits of our sustainable tyre solutions vs buying a new tyre . By giving carefully managed premium tyres a full second-life through our retread programs , or by restoring injured tyres back to service through our Ultra Repair program , customers can enjoy additional thousands of hours of performance alongside the added environmental value , which has been quantified through our carbon calculator . The calculator takes into account over 20 years of Kal Tire production data for all sizes and compares the reduced raw material and energy demands of retreaded and Ultra-Repaired tyres vs . their new equivalents . The outputs from the calculator are calculated for customers in the form of monthly and annual certificates , which carry third-party accreditation .
Q How has the Maple Program evolved since it was introduced in terms of its accuracy and complexity ? A Our third party accreditation is reviewed annually and the calculator , which is at the heart of the Maple Program , is in constant development to ensure all data is current and relevant . The calculator takes into account emission factors for over 15 countries , which are updated when new data is released . These emission factors take into account the carbon impact of energy created nationally . We also update the calculator with new emission data for all the materials used in new tyre production as they become available and ensure process data across many different types of tyre sizes , patterns and profiles is kept up to date from our repair and retread facilities . enTIRE Wheels , its leading tyre and rim management solution . Tyre and rim management software tracks the life , performance and stock movement of tyres . This includes cost / hour , tyre life , tyre fitments , repair history , warranty information , failure reasons and movement between vehicle and sites . Fernie stated : “ This information is used by mining operations to reduce their tyre costs by increased tyre life by selecting better performing tyre brands ; reducing operational issues that reduce tyre life ( eg ensuring haul roads are cleared ); and optimising rotation strategies . Increasing tyre life also reduces vehicle downtime . It tracks warranty claims and assists in purchase negotiations with tyre manufacturers with the understanding of tyre performance of each brand of tyre .”
Fernie says with good management a mine can reduce their cost of tyres by around 30 %. “ This is a considerable saving as some mines are spending more than $ 50 million each year on tyres . The different tyre management systems are below in the next point .”
But what is the relationship between tyre management systems in mining and the mining tyre suppliers themselves ? “ Tyre manufacturers and service providers require tyre performance information from their clients to track the performance of their tyres as well as their competitors . They can use this information to
improve their product , assist their client in the use of their product and to become more competitive in supply negotiations . Each company would prefer to control this information as it could give them a commercial advantage knowing the performance and market share of their competitors used at a site . Data is collected from the field and the results transferred to the huge tyre factories for product improvement . It is something the tier one tyre manufacturers do well compared to the Chinese brands . To get this information they must either use their own system or get access to the system the client is using .”
Looking at Australian mining as an example ,
46 International Mining | JULY 2022