TyrFil Offers Sustainable Flatproofing Solution for Copper Mining Market
Tyre technology plays a crucial role in the Zambian copper mining industry, contributing to operational efficiency, safety, and cost-effectiveness. In an industry that depends heavily on the performance of large mining trucks, loaders, and other heavy equipment, having the right tyres is essential for maximizing productivity—and minimizing downtime.
How can proper tyre technology impact copper mining on the continent? Access to large copper reserves, along with growing attention on additional minerals like cobalt and nickel (and to a lesser degree, gold, coal, manganese and limestone), currently defines the market. Copper is clearly a predominant mineral and Zambia is one of the globe’s largest producers (ranking seventh internationally, according to the Ministry of Mines and Mineral Development). But as the government continues to advance the regulatory landscape, Zambian mining entities must remain nimble and be able to comply with constantly evolving regulatory requirements. In the face of these changing mining laws designed to make Open Pit and Underground mining safer and more feasible for foreign investors and multi-national corporations, it’s also becoming increasingly incumbent on local operators to display and fulfill safer mining practices and best standards.
One of the areas where mining operators can shore up their safety practices and show an extended commitment to observing better environmental compliance practices is through the way that mining vehicles and transportation protocols are managed. And tyre fill technology offers myriad advantages for mining operators who rely on Off-the-Road (OTR) heavy commercial mining vehicles as the backbone of their business.
Carlisle TyrFil™ Flatproofing formulations are ideal for the mining industry. Our polyurethane material is pumped into OTR mining vehicle tyres—replacing air with a resilient elastomer core that cures within 24 hours. The result: tyre technology that offers greater fuel efficiency and also helps operators eliminate expensive and dangerous flats on the job.
Mining can be highly hazardous—regularly facing the danger of cave-ins, falling rocks, and structural collapse (in Underground Mining)—not to mention flood hazards, temperature extremes, toxic fumes, and other possible worker injury from equipment malfunction. In this environment, the last thing operators need to be concerned about is the potential shut down or tip over of large vehicular or extraction equipment that can injure or strand surrounding labor teams.
The use of TyrFil technology can directly improve both safety and performance protocols that are essential for a successful and flourishing copper mine site. Here are just a few of the ways that tyre flatproofing can affect ground operations:
- Lower G-force impact to operators who may spend hours behind the wheel
- Better maintenance of internal tyre pressure
- Longer tyre life cycle (as tyre fill technology is impervious to typical mining site debris)
- Improved heat resistance—an important feature given the long hours of required usage combined with often blistering hot climate conditions
- Reduction in rim slippage and enhanced traction and tyre stability
The use of tyre fill formulations also offers African continent copper miners support in the prevention of catastrophic tyre incidents. Because they improve overall vehicle stability (lowering the risk of those tip over/roll over incidents) and decrease the impact of “pneumatic bounce,” they play a significant role in helping to vastly decrease on-the-job injuries and related costly compensation claims. Safety must always be job number one in the rigorous mining environment and the additional use of tyre rim protection solutions reduces the residue build-up that can let slow leaks and cracks advance. By also lowering operating temperatures and their related impact on tyre wheels and rims, tyre fill eliminates the blowouts that ultimately lead to many dangerous scenarios.
Mining operators working on the African continent today already face a host of new regulatory and environmental pressures that make logistics on the ground more complex and demanding. Application of alternate tyre technologies such as Carlisle TyrFil Flatproofing takes a significant burden “off the table”—by helping already taxed mining operators and administrators to implement a ready-made and more effective tyre care and maintenance solution that can have dramatic bottom-line and safety impacts.
Learn more today at www.CarlisleTyrFil.com.
