Mining Director Predicts OTR Tyre Shortage Over in 2008

According to global diamond mining giant De Beers, the shortage of large OTR tyres that has plagued mining operators in recent years will be over by the end of 2008. The South African publication Mining Weekly has reported De Beers director Debbie Farnaby as saying the success of Chinese manufacturers in the area of radial OTR tyre production will end the shortage sooner than previously anticipated.

China’s traditional output of cross-ply tyres was deemed unsuitable by many mine operators, and numerous estimates of the tyre shortage’s duration were based upon the assumption that this type of OTR tyre would be the mainstay of Chinese production for some time. “But they’re making radials as well, and we’re testing some at Venetia (De Beers’ largest diamond mine in South Africa) at the moment,” Farnaby said.

The tyre shortage has affected both large and small operators, although larger companies such as De Beers have been able to use their size and buying power to their advantage. “We’ve had trucks standing, especially new trucks that have been delivered without tyres,” added Farnaby. “But, touch wood, with good relationships, we have not suffered the production losses that others have.”

However, despite Ms Farnaby’s prediction of Chinese manufacturers fulfilling the needs of global mining, De Beers itself has for some time operated a strict one-brand policy. “We won’t buy anything that’s not Michelin, we report everything that we get offered and, as a consequence, they’ve been very good in supplying us, and we have managed to keep all mines operational,” said Farnaby.