Modern Mining July 2022

GREEN MINING

Kal Tire walks the ESG talk

Canadian company Kal Tire’s giant tyre recycling facility in Chile, South America, is the first of its kind and has been in production since November last year, says Dan Allan, senior vice president of Kal Tire’s Mining Tire Group. By Nelendhre Moodley .

T he initiative is underpinned by the Chilean gov ernment’s legislative imperative, which comes into effect in January 2023 and requires in the first stage of its environmental legislative proposal that mines recycle a minimum of 25% of imported products.

Given that, traditionally, many mining houses dispose of old tyres in waste dumps or use them as back fill in mining operations, Kal Tire took a decision three years ago to

John Martin, VP Southern Africa (left) and Dan Allan, senior vice president of Kal Tire’s Mining Tire Group (right). fundamental elements of its make up. “Pieces of the 4,5 t tyre go into a kiln and, using a combination of heat and friction, the tyre is reduced to its original state. The process breaks down the tyre into heavy oil, clean high tensile steel and recov ered carbon ash,” explains Allan. The multimillion-dollar investment is capable of processing 7 500 tpa of tyres, from which about 2 500 t of carbon ash is recovered. The facility, located in the Antofagasta region, consists of two reactors and is scalable, as demand dictates, by adding reactors. “We are offering miners a solution that solves their problem and the gate fee structure is within reason,” says Allan. According to John Martin, VP Southern Africa, Kal Tire’s Mining Tire Group, customers have been extremely supportive and Kal Tire has found a num ber of great sources for the downstream application of the steel and oil. Aside from the re-use of oil in the explosives industry, it can be repurposed for use in diesel trucks or to power a genset to produce electricity. Given that it is comparable to heavy crude oil number 6, it can also be sold to a refinery for further blending. Investing in Mining Indaba conference A key attraction underpinning Kal Tire’s attendance at the Mining Indaba was the theme ‘Evolution of AfricanMining: Investing in the Energy Transition, ESG and Economies’, with the conference interrogating key industry issues, including decarbonisation, tech nology and innovation and ESG-focused investment. The tyre recycling initiative comes at a propitious time when miners are actively seeking solutions to their environmental responsibilities and the Mining Indaba was the ideal platform for Kal Tire to intro duce its new recycling initiative and gauge the appetite for its offering.

offer clients a suitable alter native for disposing of used tyres and thus aligning with the proposed legislation. Allan explains, “For years

we have been looking for ways to help miners get rid of old tyres in a responsible manner and, three years ago, we initiated a project to identify the best way to dispose of old tyres in an environmentally friendly manner while

meeting the legislative criteria. “We have subsequently developed a suitable technology and built a prototype facility in Chile that can be replicated to scale. It is just as suitable for a small-scale operation as for a large-scale multifac eted operation.” The tyre recycling project involves the thermal conversion of the tyre from its current form to the

Kal Tire’s Maple Program.

An aerial view of Kal Tire’s Chile recycling facility.

28  MODERN MINING  July 2022