Four people were arrested following a violent clash Friday night with protesters near an Anglo American Platinum shaft in Rustenburg, about 120 km northwest of Johannesburg. Authorities and protesters clashed in a continuing dilemma involving wages for mine workers in South Africa. The crippling labor unrest shows no sign of ending with this latest fracas. Police released a statement announcing that it had used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse about 1,000 protesters who were marching towards Amplats' Khomanani 1 shaft.
The crowd responded with petrol bombs, damaging one police vehicle, police said. No injuries were reported throughout the whole event. The platinum and gold mining industry has been brought to a standstill by strikes that started in early August and intensified after the police killed 34 strikers at Lonmin's Marikana platinum mine on August 16. The weeks of strikes have undermined confidence in Africa's biggest economy and the government of President Jacob Zuma, which critics say has been slow to respond.
