Some 80 million tons of extra ore reserves have been found in a chrome ore mine in South Africa, operated by German chemicals company Lanxess. Run by its Leather business unit, the mine supplies company sites in South Africa and Argentina that process the raw material into products for leather manufacture.

Lanxess is already among the world’s top producers of chrome ore for chemical applications and with these newly-discovered reserves the company will considerably expand its position in the market.

During a visit to the mine in Rustenburg, Lanxess’ chairman, Axel Heitmann, said, "With these we will be able to safeguard the growth of this profitable business for several decades."