The final days of South Africa's platinum strike

Reuters

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Reuters has pieced together a detailed account of the final days of a five-month strike in South Africa's platinum mines, the longest and most costly industrial action in the country's history Following are key dates in the strike and its conclusion: Jan 23 - Around 70,000 members of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) go on strike at Anglo American Platinum, Impala Platinum and Lonmin demanding higher wages May 26 - Ngoako Ramathlodi sworn in as new mines minister May 28 - Ramatlhodi gets personal approval from President Jacob Zuma to do whatever is needed to end strike May 29 - Talks mediated by Ramatlhodi start June 6 - Talks end for the week, with Ramatlhodi saying a deal is imminent June 7 - Ramatlhodi says he is pulling out of mediation June 9 - Talks break down. AMCU leader Joseph Mathunjwa says negotiations are deadlocked June 11 - Bishop of Pretoria Jo Seoka and lawyer Dali Mpofu broker a face-to-face meeting between Mathunjwa and Lonmin CEO Ben Magara. They shake hands on an "in principle" wage deal, but Mathunjwa does not sign June 12 - Platinum companies announce "in principle" deal to shareholders in coordinated stock-exchange releases in Johannesburg and London, as Mathunjwa reads out details at mass meetings around the Rustenburg platinum mines June 23 - Miners voice approval for a final deal at another mass meeting at a Rustenburg soccer stadium June 24 - Wage deal signed (Compiled by Johannesburg newsroom)