As mining trucks become more electric and autonomous, tyre development faces new challenges. Changes in torque delivery, operating cycles and vehicle utilisation mean that tyre requirements increasingly depend on how the machine, haul road and operating conditions work together. For a tyre supplier, this creates a need to become involved earlier in equipment development and stay connected to real-world operations.
Techking Tires is working with Boonray, a mining technology company specialising in autonomous haulage and battery-electric mining equipment, to develop tyre solutions for the next generation of mining trucks. The collaboration brings together Boonray’s vehicle and autonomous-haulage expertise with Techking’s application-specific development approach and field service capabilities. Rather than selecting tyres after a machine has been designed, the two companies aim to consider tyre requirements alongside vehicle development and actual mining conditions.
For Techking, this approach starts with understanding how a machine will be used. The same tyre size can perform very differently depending on payload, speed, haul road conditions and operating intensity. By analysing these factors, Techking engineers can identify application-specific risks and translate them into design priorities, from load capacity and heat management to durability and rolling resistance. This becomes particularly important for electric and autonomous mining trucks, where tyre performance must support both vehicle reliability and energy efficiency.
This approach is being applied at a mining site where soft ground and severely uneven haul roads create challenging operating conditions. In the loading area, deep ruts and uneven surfaces cause significant vehicle movement and uneven tyre loading. Autonomous trucks may also experience frequent braking and near-stop events in response to obstacles and challenging operating conditions. When reversing towards excavators, the trucks may encounter obstacles that cause wheelspin and tyre slippage.
Under these conditions, Techking tyres are undergoing field evaluation for vehicle fitment, wear, service life and intelligent monitoring. Operating data is being collected to assess tyre performance under real duty cycles and feed findings back into product development. According to Techking, field testing is ongoing, with no abnormal tyre performance reported so far. Final service-life results remain subject to further validation. These conditions create fluctuating tyre loads and traction demands, making application-specific tyre design and field validation particularly important.
Field service is central to this feedback process. Techking’s local teams support tyre fitment, inspections, testing, maintenance guidance, failure analysis and training, while engineers track how tyres perform in real conditions. For autonomous operations, where there may be no driver to notice early warning signs, systematic checks and condition data become especially important. Service findings can then inform tyre selection, operating recommendations and future development.
To connect field information with engineering decisions, Techking has developed iTechking, an AI+ Cloud-based Vehicle-Tyre-Road Integrated Platform, which connects the vehicle, the tyre and the road through the cloud. It also provides a basis for further cooperation with Boonray on intelligent tyre management and Vehicle-Tyre-Road data integration for autonomous and new-energy applications.
With a continued focus on mining and construction, Techking aims to evolve from a tyre supplier to joint development and operation partner. For OEMs, this means helping define tyre requirements earlier in machine development and supporting application matching throughout operation. For mine operators, Techking aims to help identify potential tyre issues sooner and support more reliable performance, with the longer-term goal of reducing downtime and cost per tonne moved.
As mining becomes more autonomous, Techking says tyre development needs to move closer to both machine design and real mine-site operations.
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