South African police have arrested 72 miners from the Gold Field's (NYSE:GFI) KDC Kloof mine following violent clashes at a protest near Johannesburg.
Reuters reports that a sit-in staged by 600 employees from Gold Fields Kloof mines at the Westonaria police station turned violent after police fired rubber bullets and stun grenades in an attempt to disperse the assembled workers.
In response to police aggression the protesting miners began breaking windows and causing damage to the station.
The workers taken buses to the police station situated 45 kilometers west of Johannesburg on Friday to demand the release of 13 jailed miners.
The violent incident is merely the latest in a spate of wildcat strikes and worker protests in South Africa's mining sector which have given severe headaches to the country's incumbent government as well as imperiled the prospects of one the country's key industries.
