Mining operations across Africa are under increasing pressure to do more with less. Rising input costs, constrained capital investment, aging fleets, and increasing ESG expectations are forcing operators to rethink how they optimise productivity while maintaining safety standards. In this environment, incremental gains in efficiency are no longer enough — mines need smarter, data-driven approaches that enable real-time decision-making and operational resilience.
This is where Michelin Better Mining is positioned as a strategic partner, helping operations unlock safer, more productive, and more sustainable performance through integrated tyre, data, and operational solutions.
Michelin Better Mining is not a single product or technology. It is Michelin’s comprehensive approach to partnering with mining operations across Africa to deliver measurable outcomes. The approach is anchored on three core pillars. Safety focuses on reducing operational risks and preventing incidents before they occur. Productivity centres on maximising asset performance and uptime across haulage fleets that drive 50%+ of operating costs. Sustainability targets lower environmental impact while supporting long-term value creation through energy-efficient technologies and responsible lifecycle management. Together these pillars form a holistic partnership that combines Michelin’s products, services, data, and expertise to solve systemic challenges African mines face today.
At the core of that partnership for African operations is MICHELIN MEMS 4. As the fourth generation of the first tyre monitoring system built specifically for surface mining equipment, MEMS 4 delivers what decision-makers need most: real-time intelligence. Unlike basic alerts, MEMS 4 continuously tracks tyre temperature, pressure and GPS location, and stores a full history for each tyre. That history is critical because tyre wear and failure rarely happen in isolation. Patterns emerge over weeks and months, and MEMS 4 makes those patterns visible before they become costly downtime.
“Heat is what kills these tyres,” says Amaury Vadon, Michelin’s Vice President for Africa, India and the Middle East. “With MEMS 4, you can see which trucks are running hot and reroute them before you lose a tyre. For African mines running remote 24/7 fleets, that means less downtime and tyres that last longer.”
MEMS 4 is supported by Michelin’s Better Haul Road solution, which turns tyres into sensors to measure road undulation and truck cornering severity. For African mines managing vast haul networks with aging infrastructure, that data identifies where roads are rough, where trucks corner too hard, and where drivers need coaching. Teams can then adjust grading schedules and smooth problem sections. The result is lower diesel burn, fewer tyre replacements, and safer roads — direct contributions to both productivity and sustainability outcomes.
Michelin brings best-in-class capabilities to support all three pillars of Better Mining. On safety, solutions include TK Solution, Klinge, in-depth scrap tyre analysis, and continuous product innovation designed to reduce operational risks. On productivity, the portfolio includes the X® MINE 70/70 tyre launched in 2023 for increased tramming speed and load capacity, Customer Engineering Support teams providing deep local mining expertise, MICHELIN MEMS 4 for real-time tyre monitoring, and Better Haul Road for road condition optimisation. On sustainability, Michelin delivers energy-efficient tyre technologies, end-of-life tyre solutions, and initiatives supporting environmental impact reduction and social development.
The strategic value of this partnership becomes clearest at scale. Valterra Platinum’s Flatreef project, one of the world’s largest platinum, palladium and rhodium deposits, demonstrates how small efficiency gains compound across a large fleet. Even a 1-2% improvement in haulage efficiency or a 10% extension in tyre life translates to millions saved per year. In Michelin’s “Inside the Mine” feature, Valterra’s crew showed how MEMS 4 data keeps 24/7 operations running with fewer interruptions. Dispatchers see which trucks need attention before they fail. Maintenance teams plan work around production schedules. Managers have data combined with Michelin’s expertise to back decisions.
For African operations facing rising costs and ESG pressure, Better Mining provides the operational control needed to stay competitive. “For mines looking to get more from what they already have, it’s not about redesigning the pit,” Vadon says. “It’s about making smarter decisions with real-time data and shifting maintenance from reactive to predictive. Those small gains per truck add up fast across a fleet.” Michelin Better Mining delivers that shift by acting as a strategic partner, not a supplier — bringing integrated tyre, data and operational solutions that make African mining safer, more productive, and more sustainable.
