A set of off-the-road (OTR) retreaded tyres was delivered from the Tokmak plant to the Kumtor mine in Kyrgyzstan to inspect their quality for operation.
New Retreading Initiative in Kyrgyzstan
Inaugurated in January 2025, the Tokmak plant marks one of the first attempts to retread OTR tyres in Central Asia commercially. Located 70 km east of Bishkek, the capital, the plant is designed to retread between 200 and 300 tyres per year, primarily serving the needs of the local gold and coal mining industry. The plant utilises German technology and uses materials imported from Italy and Turkey. During the trials, which started in May 2025, the retreaded OTR tyres were installed on several 148-Caterpillar 789C dump trucks.
Kumtor is developing Kyrgyzstan’s largest gold deposit, running a fleet of trucks and specialised machinery. The initial stage of the trials, expected to run for several months, has shown the high quality of these tyres. “From May 21 to May 27, the truck with the retreaded tyres travelled almost a thousand kilometres, completed 124 trips and worked 108 engine hours. The average load was between 95% and 100%. The tyres used were R3700 with pressures from 117 to 124 pascals,” Kumtor said.
The successful completion of the field trials will pave the way for the plant to reach its full capacity utilisation ratio and save $1.5 million on average per year for Kyrgyzaltyn, a company operating the Kumtor mine, Kubat Abdraimov, Chairman of the Board of Kyrgyzaltyn, said. “This is not only economically advantageous, but also important for environmental protection,” he added.
In 2023, the Kyrgyz government officials shared plans to sell tyres from the Tokmar plant to neighbouring countries, including Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Under the existing plans, the gold reserves at the deposit are scheduled to be exhausted in 2031, after which its operation will be wrapped up.
