Rustenburg- Johannesburg – South African police clashed with residents near a mine run by the platinum firm Anglo American on Thursday, as miners at nearby Lonmin went back to work.

The protesters blocked roads, and police fired teargas and stun grenades to disperse them, as the Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) workers faced a Thursday-night deadline to call off an illegal strike and return to work.

“There was an illegal gathering that took place this morning,” police spokesperson Dennis Adriao told reporters. “Police used teargas as well as water cannon to disperse individuals. Stun grenades were used as well.”

Police denied having used rubber bullets after residents claimed they had been fired in the Sondela informal settlement where black smoke billowed as miners and residents barricaded roads with rocks and burning tyres.

The unrest at Amplats in the platinum belt of Rustenburg, 120km north-west of Johannesburg, appeared to be escalating just as a deadly six-week strike at a nearby Lonmin’s Marikana plant wound down.

Lonmin workers returned to work on Thursday after a deal was brokered to end the crippling strike in which 46 people died over a six-week standoff that spurred knock-on protests at other gold and platinum mines.

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