Australian contract mining major MacMahon outlined positive results from its internal tyre repair efforts in its just released 2025 Sustainability Report. It states: “At the Tropicana Gold Mine, tyres are among the largest consumables in our surface mining operations. Given the demanding conditions, wear and tear are inevitable, but rather than discarding tyres once they reach the end of their initial use, we’ve adopted a more sustainable approach: repair, reuse, and reduce waste.”
Over the past five years, the MacMahon tyre repair team has completed 909 repairs across 677 tyres of
various sizes, with many tyres receiving multiple repairs. On average, each repaired tyre gains an
additional 1,200 hours of operational life, reducing the demand for new tyres and contributing to
significant cost savings.
MacMahon puts the impact in context both in financial and environmental terms. “A single Bridgestone 46/90R57 truck tyre costs approximately A$45,000 an underground mining tyre averages, while around A$10,000. Each tyre typically runs between 2,500 and 3,500 hours, depending on site conditions and maintenance.”
The tyre maintenance team at Tropicana is a highly coordinated group consisting of two tyre repairers, six tyre fitters, two tyre fitter trainees, and one leading hand. Their combined expertise is essential to the smooth operation of the fleet.
It adds: “Extending tyre life is not only a financial win – it significantly reduces the environmental footprint associated with manufacturing, transporting, and disposing of large mining tyres. In fact, this
initiative has saved approximately 1,700 t CO2-e lifetime GHG emissions from reducing tyre waste
disposal to landfill over the five-year period.”
A key strength of the program is our ability to repair tyres onsite at Tropicana. By doing so, it avoids
the need to transport tyres to Perth for third-party repairs – a process that can take up to three months.
“In contrast, our onsite team completes most repairs within three days, dramatically reducing downtime and keeping our fleet operating efficiently.”
The MacMahon tyre maintenance team it says is a highly skilled and coordinated unit. Working together, they take a hands-on approach to each repair, often designing and building custom patches tailored to the specific damage and operational requirements.
The company concludes: “This initiative reflects Macmahon’s broader commitment to operational sustainability – where smarter processes reduce environmental impact, extend the lifecycle of high-value resources, and maintain safe operations on site. By investing in local capability and valuing resource recovery, we’re keeping materials in use longer and supporting a more circular approach to mining operations. Each repair is unique, and our ability to design custom patches makes a big difference in the longevity of the tyre.”