Experts consider Pike River Mine re-entry options
Monday, 10 September 2018
Mining experts are considering three options to re-enter the Pike River Mine and recover the bodies of 29 men.
The Pike River Recovery Agency, established by the Government this year to find a way to retrieve the men killed following an explosion in the mine in 2010, settled on three re-entry options last month: building a new small tunnel, or entering the current portal with either safety controls or an emergency-escape borehole.
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Experts convened in Greymouth on Monday and will spend two weeks assessing the risks of each option. Independent miners, technical advisors, agency staff and members of the Family Reference Group, who represent many of the Pike River victims' families, are involved. Representatives from WorkSafe, New Zealand Mines Rescue, Ngāti Waewae and the Department of Conservation have also been invited.
Findings from the workshop will be reviewed next month. Re-entry could start this year, but would be completed after March 2019 – the original deadline minister responsible Andrew Little had set for the agency.