Johannesburg ( CNN ) -- Police in Rustenberg , South Africa , clashed Tuesday with more than 1,000 striking miners who were barricading public roads near the Anglo American Platinum mine . Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the protesters , and sporadic scuffles continue , Capt . Dennis Adrio with the North West police told CNN . What 's behind South Africa 's mine violence ? Police and firefighters responded after a power substation on Anglo American Platinum 's property was set on fire at 4 a.m. , Adrio said . Tuesday 's clashes continued a wave of wildcat strikes and violent confrontations that has wracked the country 's mining sector for more than two months , the worst labor unrest since the end of apartheid . Anglo-American Platinum fired about 12,000 striking workers who refused to attend disciplinary hearings earlier this month after a three-week walkout . Another company , Gold Fields Limited , fired 8,100 striking workers last week after they did not return to work . Some 15,000 workers at the company 's KDC East mine , near Johannesburg , had gone on strike to seek higher pay , as have workers at several other South Africa mines . Read more : South African mine fires 1,400 striking workers . Repeated clashes have occurred since police opened fire on strikers Lonmin 's Marikana platinum mine in August , killing 34 workers and wounding dozens more . South Africa 's mining sector is the country 's biggest industry .
Police fire tear gas and rubber bullets as they clash with striking miners in South Africa 's . The protesters were barricading roads near the South African American Platinum mine , police say . Rustenberg mining sector has seen a wave of wildcat strikes and clashes since three-week . 8,100 of striking miners have been fired by gold and platinum mining firms .