Mining Tyre Recycling

A chemical-free devulcanization process for off-the-road mining tyres has taken first place at the 10th Annual Mining Cleantech Challenge in Denver, Colorado, signalling new momentum for circular rubber recovery in heavy industry.

The Weight of the Off-the-Road Tyre Problem

Mining operations run on some of the largest tyres ever manufactured. Off-the-road (OTR) tyres are built to carry massive loads across abrasive, high-impact terrain and are engineered for extreme durability — the very qualities that make them so difficult to process once they reach end of life. Their sheer physical size, heavy steel reinforcement, and tough rubber compounds push them beyond the reach of conventional tyre recycling lines, so a worn OTR tyre is often stockpiled, buried, or burned rather than returned to the material cycle.

Devulcanization Without Chemicals

The winning solution centres on devulcanization, the process of breaking the sulfur cross-links that give cured rubber its strength and rigidity. By reversing vulcanization, the technology returns scrap tyre rubber to a reprocessable state known as tyre-derived polymer — a material that can be compounded into new rubber products instead of being discarded. A chemical-free approach is significant because it avoids the solvents and additives that can complicate conventional devulcanization and raise its environmental footprint. Devulcanization also complements thermal routes such as tire pyrolysis and the production of recovered carbon black, each recovering value from a different fraction of the scrap tyre.

A Circular Use for Mining Rubber

For the mining sector, the appeal is direct. Recovered tyre-derived polymer can be re-incorporated into durable goods such as conveyor belts — products the industry already consumes in volume — turning a difficult waste stream into a useful feedstock. The recognition came through a partnership pairing the processing technology with Mine Resources, and it signals that mining operators are actively seeking circular answers to their own rubber waste rather than treating it as a disposal problem.

What It Means for Resource Recovery

Mining tyre recycling sits squarely within the broader waste-to-value opportunity Klean Industries serves. Whether the chosen route is devulcanization, pyrolysis, or the production of recovered carbon black and pyrolysis oil, the underlying logic is the same: a bulky, high-value rubber stream that should be recovered rather than discarded. For operators and developers weighing a facility, the first step is a feasibility study that maps feedstock supply, technology fit, and offtake markets — so the economics and the environmental case are clear before capital is committed.

Learn More:

• Tire Pyrolysis Projects
• Recovered Carbon Black
• Pyrolysis Oil
• What Is Tire Pyrolysis?
• What Is Recovered Carbon Black?
• Feasibility Studies

Turn Mining Tyre Waste Into Value

Devulcanization is one of several routes for recovering value from off-the-road and scrap tyres, alongside pyrolysis, recovered carbon black, and pyrolysis oil production.

Klean Industries supports operators and developers from feedstock assessment through plant design, engineering, and commissioning.

Ready to evaluate a mining tyre recycling facility?

Contact Klean Industries about mining tyre recycling » GO.