Tyre shortage could take years to resolve

A shortage of tyres could begin to affect mining operations worldwide in the New Year.

The industry uses equipment that needs tyres up to 13 feet in height and over five tons in weight.

They are found on the huge dump trucks that bring loads out of he the world’s biggest mines.

Bridgestone, the Japanese company and leading provider of this type of tyre, has already warned that world demand will not be fully met until 2012.

Michelin, the second largest supplier, is in agreement and the shortage has already seen the price of a tyre that cost £15,000 in 2005 increase by up to 300%.

In some cases new dump trucks are being delivered to a site without tyres and then sitting idle until the wheels arrive.

The mining industry has already begun to adapt, with drivers attending “tyre awareness sessions” in the hope that better handling will increase tyre life, and Rio Tinto has opened a retreading centre.

Women drivers are being encouraged by some companies because research indicates that the tyres on the trucks driven by women last around a month longer than tyres on trucks driven by men.

The tyre shortage is, however, only one factor in a much larger problem.

In a recent report, analysts at Goldman Sachs, the investment bank, increased target prices for a whole range of commodities relevant to the mining sector, including explosives.