Rio Tinto to present HAR talcs for tyres at K-2010

ERJ staff report (RD)

Toulouse, France -- At K-2010 in Düsseldorf Rio Tinto will be presenting materials for the tyre industry, including its Mistron HAR talcs to enhance impermeability, a 20 Aug statement said.

Used as a partial replacement to carbon black, tyre inner liners reinforced with Mistron HAR give up to 50 percent better air retention rates than liners filled with carbon black alone. This improvement allows tyre manufacturers to reduce liner thickness and tyre weight, making tyres cheaper to produce and lowering rolling resistance, the company said.

This means fuel savings and lower CO₂ emissions for the consumer, and will contribute to boosting tyres to a higher rating under the EU's new tyre efficiency rating system, to be introduced in November 2012, the statement added.