Hundreds blockade Amplats mine shafts in S.Africa: police

Hundreds of people barricaded roads to a mine of the world’s top platinum producer Anglo American as labour unrest spread in South Africa’s key industry, police said.

“There is a strike, mine workers are gathering,” police spokesman Thulani Ngubane told AFP.

“They are rioting, barricading the roads with tyres, trees trunks and rocks.”

Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) denied its workers were on strike, instead saying there is widespread intimidation of its employees.

“Mine employees are not on strike. We are aware of widespread cases of intimidation which have been reported throughout the Rustenburg area,” Mpumi Sithole, spokesman for the mining giant said in a statement.

He said some Amplats workers “were unable to clock in for night shift due to fear of intimidation and threats by unidentified individuals in and around our Rustenburg operations.”

South Africa’s mines have in recent weeks been hit by unrest following a wildcat strike that left 44 dead at Lonmin’s Marikana platinum mine.