Executive Overview
Americas Trades is targeting 1 Mt of certified scrap-tire supply over 12 months. South America can deliver it — but only through a multi-country, multi-stream sourcing strategy anchored in Chile, Brazil and Peru, with compliance-driven inflows from EPR operators and cement co-processors.
The headline finding
Mining OTR alone accounts for only ~150 kt/year. To reach 1 Mt in 12 months Americas Trades must simultaneously capture mining OTR, passenger/truck ELT via national EPR operators (ANIP/Reciclanip in Brazil, Rueda Verde in Colombia, SEGINUS in Ecuador), cement-industry TDF feedstock, and Chile's 500 kt legacy stockpile. No single stream delivers the target.
Why each target country matters
🇨🇱 Chile Tier 1
🇧🇷 Brazil Tier 1
🇵🇪 Peru Tier 1
🇨🇴 Colombia Tier 2
🇪🇨 Ecuador Tier 2
🇦🇷 Argentina Tier 2
🇧🇴 Bolivia Tier 3
Companion deliverables in this package
📄 Full report (Word) 📕 Full report (PDF) 📊 Prospect workbook (Excel)
Feasibility of 1 Mt / 12 months
A build-up of recurring + one-time supply shows the target is feasible — but only through aggressive multi-stream capture.
Supply-side build-up (metric tons)
| Country | Tier | Mining OTR | P&T ELT | Stockpile | Total addressable | Capture today |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chile | 1 | 40,000 | 180,000 | 500,000 | 720,000 | ~40% |
| Brazil | 1 | 55,000 | 400,000 | — | 455,000 | ~90% |
| Peru | 1 | 35,000 | 90,000 | — | 125,000 | ~15% |
| Argentina | 2 | 8,000 | 130,000 | — | 138,000 | ~20% |
| Colombia | 2 | 12,000 | 95,000 | — | 107,000 | ~60% |
| Ecuador | 2 | 5,000 | 80,000 | — | 85,000 | ~22% |
| Bolivia | 3 | 3,000 | 45,000 | — | 48,000 | ~0% |
| TOTAL | — | 158,000 | 1,020,000 | 500,000 | 1,678,000 | — |
How the 1 Mt target closes
40% penetration of recurring annual supply delivers ~471 kt. Full Chilean stockpile drawdown adds 500 kt. That is 971 kt — a shortfall of 29 kt. Closing to 1,000 kt requires any one of: an expanded Reciclanip flow in Brazil (+30 kt), a single Votorantim TDF offtake contract (+50-70 kt), or a Peruvian stockpile remediation tender.
Four Supply Streams
Mining OTR is the highest-value stream but lowest in volume. P&T via EPR operators delivers the bulk of tonnage. Cement co-processors and stockpile drawdown round out the strategy.
Stream 1 — Mining OTR
Volume: 150-175 kt/year · Price: 100-300 USD/t
Concentration: ~12 mining groups.
- Codelco, BHP, Antofagasta, Anglo American, Glencore (Chile)
- Vale, Samarco, Anglo Minas-Rio, Kinross, MRN, CSN Mineração (Brazil)
- Antamina, Cerro Verde, Las Bambas, Quellaveco, Southern Copper (Peru)
- Cerrejón, Cerro Matoso (Colombia)
- Mirador, Fruta del Norte (Ecuador)
Commercial model: direct MSA with operator or mining contractor. 3-5 year terms.
Stream 2 — Passenger + Truck ELT via EPR operators
Volume: ~1,020 kt/year · Price: 20-60 USD/t
- ANIP/Reciclanip (Brazil) — 400 kt/y; 47+ partner processors
- ANDI Rueda Verde (Colombia) — ~60 kt/y capture
- SEGINUS / Ecovalor (Ecuador) — ~18 kt/y capture
- Chile Ley REP (no single operator — decentralized)
- Peru DS 024-2021 system operators (in formation)
- Argentina provincial (OPDS Buenos Aires, etc.)
Commercial model: register as approved downstream processor/exporter.
Stream 3 — Cement co-processor offtake
Volume absorbable: 200-250 kt/y · Price: 30-90 USD/t
- Votorantim Cimentos — pioneer since 1992; R$330M investment 2025
- CSN Cimentos — 50% TSR by 2030
- Holcim Brasil, InterCement (BR/AR)
- UNACEM, Cementos Pacasmayo, Yura (Peru)
- Loma Negra (AR); Argos, Cemex (CO); Holcim Ecuador; COBOCE (BO)
Commercial model: shred to kiln spec; take-or-pay on tonnage.
Stream 4 — Chile legacy stockpile
Volume: 500 kt one-time · Price: 150-250 USD/t incl. logistics
- Accumulating ~15 kt/month in northern Chile
- Tire-importer consortiums carry liability under Ley REP
- MMA (Chile Environment Ministry) coordinates
- Kal Tire + Michelin facilities have 9,700 t/y processing combined
- Capacity-limited — opportunity for export-oriented partner
Commercial model: multi-year drawdown tender with importer consortium.
Country Deep Dives
🇨🇱 Chile Tier 1
Regulation
Ley 20.920 (Ley REP) + tire-specific decree — 25% mining-tire recycling mandatory in 2023; 75% by 2027; 100% by 2030. Enforcement active via national environmental court.
Mining fleets
- Codelco — Chuquicamata, El Teniente, Ministro Hales, Radomiro Tomic, Salvador, Andina, Gabriela Mistral
- BHP Escondida — world's largest copper mine; 160+ trucks; converting to CAT 798 AC
- Antofagasta Minerals — Los Pelambres, Centinela, Zaldívar
- Anglo American — Los Bronces, El Soldado, 44% Collahuasi
- Glencore — 44% Collahuasi, Lomas Bayas; Komatsu AHS autonomous
Recyclers and competition
- Kal Tire MTS Antofagasta — 7,500 t/y thermal; Mitsui JV
- Michelin/Enviro La Negra — 2,200 giant tires/y; first mining-specific plant globally
- Polambiente — 11,000 t/y mechanical granulation (Santiago)
Commercial approach
Anchor Codelco or BHP (Ley REP audit-driven). Secondary: MMA engagement on stockpile tender. Expect 9-12 months to close anchor MSA. Disposal price 120-200 USD/t.
🇧🇷 Brazil Tier 1
Regulation
CONAMA Resolution 416/2009 — 1-to-1 weight ratio of tires recycled to tires sold, enforced by IBAMA. Reciclanip (industry EPR via ANIP) captures ~95 M tires / 400 kt annually through 1,024+ collection points and 47+ processor partners.
Mining fleets
- Vale — Carajás, Itabira, Brucutu, S11D; autonomous Komatsu 930E fleets
- Samarco (Vale + BHP JV) — 15 Mt pellets 2025
- Anglo American Minas-Rio; Kinross Paracatu; MRN bauxite
- CSN Mineração; Sigma Lithium; CBMM; Nexa Resources
Cement co-processors
- Votorantim Cimentos — R$330 M investment (Jan 2025); tire shredding Cuiabá
- CSN Cimentos — 50% TSR target 2030
- Holcim Brasil, InterCement
Commercial approach
Brazil is the highest-volume single-country opportunity. Priorities: (1) Reciclanip downstream registration; (2) Vale enterprise MSA; (3) Votorantim TDF offtake; (4) CSN Cimentos TDF. Target 250-350 kt/y from Brazil alone.
🇵🇪 Peru Tier 1
Regulation
DS 024-2021-MINAM — Régimen Especial de Gestión y Manejo de Llantas Usadas (July 2021). DS 001-2022-MINAM integrated EPR principles into D.L. 1278 (January 2022). Enforcement ramping; recycling infrastructure thin.
Mining fleets
- Antamina (BHP 34% / Glencore 34% / Teck 22%) — Peru's largest
- Cerro Verde (Freeport 55% / Sumitomo 21%) — CAT 798 + 372 t fleet
- Las Bambas (MMG/Minmetals) — ~250 trucks
- Quellaveco (Anglo American) — first autonomous copper mine in South America
- Southern Peru (Grupo México) — Toquepala, Cuajone
Recyclers and cement
- RMD, Neuma Perú, Rodacaucho, Regomax, Tricorzo
- UNACEM, Cementos Pacasmayo, Cementos Yura (TDF candidates)
Commercial approach
Best single-country match for certified disposal value proposition. Priorities: (1) Antamina anchor MSA; (2) Cerro Verde; (3) UNACEM + Pacasmayo TDF MOUs; (4) MINAM policy engagement. 6-9 months to first MSA.
🇨🇴 Colombia Tier 2
Resolución 1326/2017 — Sistema de Recolección Selectiva de Llantas Usadas, operated by ANDI as Rueda Verde. Capture ~60%; 40 kt/y leakage is addressable. Key mining: Cerrejón (Glencore, 258 trucks), Cerro Matoso (South32, nickel), Drummond coal. Cement: Argos, Cemex. Ports: Buenaventura + Cartagena. Commercial approach: register as Rueda Verde downstream processor + direct Cerrejón MSA.
🇪🇨 Ecuador Tier 2
Most sophisticated EPR south of Colombia — SEGINUS + Ecovalor per-tire fee. Generation ~70-90 kt/y. Mining growing fast: Mirador (Ecuacorriente/CRCC, 250-350 trucks), Fruta del Norte (Lundin Gold, underground). Recyclers Ecocaucho, Renova at modest scale. Port of Guayaquil is region's most efficient. Approach: SEGINUS partnership + direct miners.
🇦🇷 Argentina Tier 2
130-150 kt/y P&T ELT. No federal tire EPR — provincial patchwork with Buenos Aires (OPDS) most active. Lithium: Livent/Arcadium, Ganfeng, Lithium Americas; Copper: Josemaría (Lundin), Los Azules (McEwen), El Pachón (Glencore); Gold: Barrick Veladero, Newmont Cerro Negro. Regomax is incumbent recycler. Loma Negra (InterCement), Holcim Argentina for cement. Longer sales cycles; pair provincial + global operator programs.
🇧🇴 Bolivia Tier 3
35-50 kt/y generation. No tire-specific regulation; no commercial recycling capacity. Land-locked — Arica (CL) routing with 30-50% cost penalty. Key fleets: COMIBOL, Sinchi Wayra (Glencore), Minera San Cristóbal, YLB lithium. COBOCE is main cement producer. Wave-4 greenfield play — small but first-mover advantage meaningful.
Top 60 Prospects
Ranked by Priority Score (0-100). Filter below. Full workbook in AmericasTrades_SouthAmerica_ScrapTire_ProspectList.xlsx.
| # | Prospect | Country | Category | Wave | Score | Est. Vol (t/y) | Why priority |
|---|
12-Month Outreach Plan
Four waves of commercial activity, each with specific target accounts and cumulative tonnage milestones.
Chile + Brazil + Peru anchors
Codelco, BHP, Antofagasta, Vale, Antamina, Cerro Verde, Michelin, Bridgestone, Kal Tire, Votorantim, ANIP, UNACEM.
Milestone: 2 anchor MSAs signed + 1 EPR system operator registration + Santiago/São Paulo offices open.
Contractors + Tier-2 + Colombia
Thiess, Stracon, Southern Copper, Las Bambas, Anglo Collahuasi, CSN Cimentos, InterCement, Cerrejón, Cerro Matoso, Rueda Verde, Polambiente.
Milestone: 5 contractor contracts + Chile stockpile drawdown LOI + Colombia pilot.
Ecuador + Argentina
Mirador, Fruta del Norte, Lundin Josemaría, Barrick Veladero, Glencore AR, Loma Negra, Holcim Ecuador, Regomax, SEGINUS, Cemex Colombia.
Milestone: Ecuadorian EPR integration signed; 2 Argentine lithium/copper MOUs; Bolivia feasibility visit.
Bolivia + consolidation
COBOCE, YLB, MMG Las Bambas expansion, legacy stockpile remediation tenders, 2027 pipeline.
Milestone: 1 Mt under contract; publish Year-2 pipeline; renew anchors on multi-year terms.
Commercial Model — four complementary products
DaaS (100-300 USD/t, mining majors) · EPR Downstream (40-80 USD/t, high volume) · Cement Feedstock (30-90 USD/t, take-or-pay) · Stockpile Remediation (150-250 USD/t, one-time)
Logistics & Ports
Port capacity is not a constraint for 1 Mt/y. Key routes consolidate at Santos, Callao, Antofagasta, Buenaventura, and Guayaquil.
| Country | Port | Suitability | Use case |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🇨🇱 Chile | Antofagasta | Excellent | Primary export for mining OTR outputs |
| 🇨🇱 Chile | San Antonio | Good | Container consolidation |
| 🇨🇱 Chile | Iquique / ZOFRI | Good | Free-zone consolidation + Bolivia exports |
| 🇵🇪 Peru | Callao (DP World) | Excellent | 70% of national container traffic |
| 🇵🇪 Peru | Matarani | Good | Southern mining corridor; Antamina / Cerro Verde |
| 🇧🇷 Brazil | Santos | Excellent | Largest port; ~180 Mt/year; all container types |
| 🇧🇷 Brazil | Paranaguá | Good | Southern alternative |
| 🇧🇷 Brazil | Itaqui | Good | North/NE; Carajás via rail |
| 🇨🇴 Colombia | Buenaventura | Excellent | Mining corridor via rail |
| 🇨🇴 Colombia | Cartagena | Good | EU / US-East-Coast shipping |
| 🇪🇨 Ecuador | Guayaquil | Excellent | Most efficient port in region; Pacific-Asia routes |
| 🇦🇷 Argentina | Buenos Aires | Good | National gateway |
| 🇧🇴 Bolivia | Arica (via CL) | Only option | +30-50% logistics cost penalty |
Risks and Mitigation
Regulatory slippage
Chile's 2023 P&T recycling target was missed. Enforcement uneven. Mitigation: anchor around mining OTR where 2030 accountability is clearer.
Currency / macro volatility
ARS, BRL, PEN pricing risk. Mitigation: USD-denominated contracts; inflation escalators on multi-year MSAs.
Environmental permit timing
Disposal/export permits 6-18 months. Mitigation: parallel permit applications with commercial outreach.
OEM circular competition
Michelin/Enviro, Bridgestone, Kal Tire expanding. Mitigation: position as capacity complement — they cannot scale continent-wide in 12 months.
Bolivia logistics
Arica routing vulnerable to labor/border delays. Mitigation: treat Bolivia as incremental, not critical-path.
ESG chain-of-custody
Mining majors will audit disposal traceability. Mitigation: digital manifest + ISO 14001 + tire-specific certifications pre-wave-1.
Sources
Key sources used in this report. All figures are directional and require pre-contract verification.
- Kal Tire Mining — Antofagasta plant press materials — kaltiremining.com
- Chile Ministerio del Medio Ambiente — Ley REP — economiacircular.mma.gob.cl
- Michelin / Enviro La Negra inauguration — InvestChile
- Peru DS 024-2021-MINAM — El Peruano
- Peru DS 001-2022-MINAM — MINAM
- Antamina — BHP / Teck — bhp.com
- Freeport-McMoRan Cerro Verde — fcx.com
- MMG Las Bambas — mmg.com
- Brazil CONAMA Resolution 416/2009 — CONAMA
- ANIP / Reciclanip — anip.com.br
- Vale Brazil — vale.com
- Votorantim Cimentos R$330M investment — World Cement
- Colombia Resolución 1326/2017 — MinAmbiente
- Ecuador SEGINUS/Ecovalor — seginus.ec
- InterCement / Loma Negra — intercement.com
- Grand View Research — Tire Recycling Market — GVR
- ETRMA statistics — etrma.org
- WBCSD Tire Industry Project — WBCSD
- Tyre Stewardship Australia — tyrestewardship.org.au
- Americas Trades internal brief — Worldwide Market Survey (client input document)