MIAMI—Eurotire Inc., a designer, manufacturer and service provider of off-road tires for the global mining industry, has signed a partnership with Kumtor Gold Mine, Bishkek, located in the Tian Shan mountainous region of Krygyzstan.
Eurotire said it has established a technical services department onsite and remains committed to providing 24/7 OTR bias ply and radial tire maintenance and support for the gold mine's fleet of equipment.
As a result of the contract with Kumtor, Eurotire said its technicians will be on hand to assist with reducing tire-related operating cost “by improving tire and rim maintenance practices while applying Eurocare safety techniques in everyday practices.” The techs will remain on site and serve on a rotating basis, according to the Miami-based company.
“Gold producer Kumtor operates in an extremely challenging environment at over 4,000 meters above sea level, the second highest gold mining operation in the world. Partnering for even greater success, this agreement demonstrates Eurotire's global positioning statement of ‘Wherever you mine, we are there with service and support for our tires,'” said a statement from Eurotire technical managers currently assisting on-site.
Eurotire said the agreement was reached after completing multiple in-depth, full-tire audits, which allowed the company to provide Kumtor with a detailed recommendation insuring “fully optimized tire performance and, therefore, reduce the amount of time the machines might otherwise stand idle.” The on-site audit also served to help clarify the customer's key performance indicators.
Using Eurotire's maintenance program guidelines will insure the mine “will receive the best OTR tire performance from their tire investment,” Eurotire said, adding that, to date, some of its 40.00-57 tires already have achieved more than 7,000 hours of operation.
Eurotire said its OTR tires are in operation on haul trucks, wheel loaders and other heavy equipment used in surface mining applications. The company has operations on five continents.
The Kumtor Gold Mine, near the Krygyzstan border with China, is 100 percent owned by Canadian mining company Centerra Gold through its wholly owned subsidiary, Kumtor Gold Co.