Ten S.Africa chrome miners hurt in clash

JOHANNESBURG (AFP) - Ten striking chrome miners were shot and wounded with rubber bullets in a dawn clash with mine security on Tuesday, South African police and unions said.

Some 500 miners at a small chrome mine in the restive Rustenburg mining region northwest of the country staged a picket around 5:00 am (0300 GMT).

Security guards used rubber bullets to disperse the group, who work at a mine owned by the German-based chemical group Lanxess.

"Ten of them were injured and taken to the mine hospital," regional police spokesman Thulani Ngubane told AFP.

"The current information we have is that rubber bullets were used, but our investigations are ongoing," Ngubane said.

A local member of the National Union of Mineworkers said three of those shot sustained serious injuries.

Police have now moved into the mine and the situation is under control, Ngubane said.

It is the latest round of unrest in South Africa's key mining region, where the world largest platinum mines are found.

The news rocked South Africa's already jittery financial markets.

The rand, which has been on a downward slide, was trading at 9.55 to the dollar on Tuesday -- its weakest level in four years.

Last week Lonmin platinum nine workers staged a two-day strike sparked by union rivalry, while Anglo American Platinum workers threatened work stoppages over plans to lay off 6,000 miners.

Meanwhile the National Union of Mineworkers said the Lanxess miners had been on strike for nearly a week over unpaid bonuses, but tensions escalated Tuesday.

"There is a court order in terms of where strikes are supposed to stop. ... They crossed the line, and came closer to the entrance at the mine and the mine security reacted by firing rubber bullets," said NUM regional coordinator Mxhasi Sithethi.

Lanxess said the strike over annual performance bonuses had been declared illegal by a court on Friday as the employees at the plant were not entitled to the scheme.

On Tuesday mine managers tried to approach the workers for talks, but Lanxess said a large group of employees attacked the managers and guards "in a very aggressive manner with stones," the company said.

"In an act of self-defence and as precautionary measure, security fired a round of rubber bullets into the ground in front of protesters," it said.