Angry Strikers March At South Africa's Marikana Mine

More than 3,000 striking South African miners marched through streets near Lonmin's Marikana mine on Wednesday, the largest protest at the hot spot since police shot dead 34 of their colleagues last month.

Police armed with tear gas and assault rifles deployed armoured vehicles and helicopters to keep an eye on the stick-waving protesters.

It was the strongest show of police force since the immediate aftermath of the August 16 shooting, the bloodiest security incident since the end of apartheid in 1994.

One man at the front of the column waved a placard reading "We want 12,500 or nothing else", a reference to the group's demand for a hike in base pay to 12,500 rand a month, more than double their current salary.

The marchers retreated after a two-hour standoff at an entrance of Lonmin's nearby Karee mine and talks between a delegation of protesters and management. There was no violence.

The strike for the pay rise by rock drill operators and other miners is now in its fourth week and is threatening to cripple London-headquartered Lonmin. Only 4.2 percent of its shift workers reported for duty on Wednesday.

"We want all the shafts closed. We have lost loved ones and spilt blood," said a miner who asked to be called by his first name Xolani.

The unrest may also hurt President Jacob Zuma before a December vote for re-election as the leader of the African National Congress (ANC), the party that dominates politics.

Jan Thiroun, a Lonmin manager at Karee who met some of the marchers, said the strike was setting a dangerous precedent with ramifications for a sector that makes up 6 percent of output in Africa's biggest economy.

"It's like putting a gun at someone's head," he said. "From here on, if you do something like this, you might as well close all South Africa's mines.