All options for re-entering Pike River mine deemed possible

Thursday, 20 September 2018

Pike River Recovery Agency chief executive Dave Gawn and Pike River father Bernie Monk talk in May about the plan to re-enter the Pike River mine drift.

Experts considering the risks of re-entering the Pike River mine say every option for getting back inside is 'technically feasible'.

About 24 people have assessing three options to re-enter the 2.3 kilometre tunnel, or mine drift, including technical experts, representatives from the Pike River families, police, WorkSafe, the Department of Conservation, and Mines Rescue.

The coalition Government set up the Pike River Recovery Agency to recover the mine drift eight years after the explosion that killed 29 men on November, 19, 2010.

Experts are assessing ways to safely re-enter the Pike River mine, where 29 men died in a series of explosions in November 2010.

Risk assessor and facilitator Jim Knowles, who will write a report on the re-entry, said people could enter the mine safely.

'It's been two weeks of hard work. I'm confident they [the agency] can move forward with what we've done. Any one of those options is feasible and can be done safely.'

Pike River Recovery Agency experts discuss the risks involved in re-entering the West Coast mine.

Pike River Recovery Agency chief executive Dave Gawn says all of the options for re-entering the mine are 'technically feasible'.

* Police prepare to reopen investigation into Pike River explosion

* Counting the costs of going back into Pike River Mine

* Experts consider Pike River Mine re-entry options**

The three options for re-entry are: using a single entry; building a new 250 metre-long tunnel, which would connect with the 'Pit Bottom in Stone' area, for ventilation and a second escape route; and using a single entry but adding a new large borehole to provide a means of emergency escape.

All risks had been identified for each task involved in each option. The team also discussed what control measures were needed to manage those risks and hazards.

The risk assessment will then be independently reviewed by another team of experts.

Pike River Recovery Agency chief executive Dave Gawn said the work was needed to ensure the safety of anyone who ended up re-entering the mine.

'I'm confident … there's nothing I've heard that would mean re-entry is impossible.

'All three options have been shown to be technically feasible.'

Gawn said the hazards they had identified were common to all mining operations, including roof fall, entrapment and recovery specialists meeting pockets of methane in the tunnel.

'Those are all standard hazards within any mining industry so that's why the experts are quite confident they can be managed as we go forward.'

For example, the risk of rock fall and entrapment could be managed by installing wire rope barriers in the tunnel, he said.

Family group representative Anna Osborne, who sat in on the risk assessment process, said she was happy with the results.

'It was quite humbling actually. They are not telling us why it can't be done, they are telling us how it can be done.'

Osborne successfully campaigned to stop the previous National Government from permanently sealing the mine.

Two further phases of the risk assessment process will include a review of the findings by technical experts October 1 and 2, and a final review on October 16.

Gawn said the agency expected to submit a plan to Minister Responsible for Pike River Re-entry Andrew Little for approval by October 31.