Africa

Africa

Five miners injured in clash with security forces in South Africa

21 December 2012 04:13 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. A labor dispute erupted at a gold mine in South Africa on Thursday, leaving five miners hurt, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

Five miners were wounded by rubber bullets in a clash with the security guards at Harmony Gold's Kusasalethu mine in the province of Gauteng, the South African Press Association, reported.

The Harmony Gold is one of the world's biggest companies, with an output of 1.30 million ounces in 2011.

Nearly 600 miners were suspended on Thursday morning for taking part in an illegal strike last week.

"This morning there was the violent behavior and damage to the mine structure," the company said. "The gold mine had to be closed temporarily to ensure the safety of the miners."

The company said any violence would not be tolerated at the gold mine.

Last month, violence hit the same mine, leaving two miners killed and another injured.

The mine management and the trade unions have been negotiating in an effort to end the conflict since miners ended their strike on Oct.25, according to the report.