New date for Pike River mine drift reopening after failed attempt

Monday, 20 May 2019

Minister for Pike River Re-entry Andrew Little announces a delay for safety reasons on May 2, 2019.

An attempt will be made to reopen the Pike River mine drift on Tuesday, but it could be some time before the mine is re-entered.

Efforts to re-enter the mine, where 29 workers were killed in an explosion in 2010, were postponed earlier this month over problems with gas monitoring equipment.

Pike River Recovery Agency chief executive Dave Gawn confirmed they had completed preparations for the re-entry, including cutting through the concrete seal and ventilating the mine drift.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Minister Andrew Little console family members at the entrance to the Pike River coal mine on May 3.

'Assuming favourable weather conditions and no other last minute issues arising, the agency will re-enter the Pike River Mine drift [on Tuesday],' he said on Monday evening.

**READ MORE:

Family members approach the entrance to the mine earlier this month.

* Pike River Mine re-entry scheduled for May 3

* Miners trained in forensic work ahead of planned Pike River mine re-entry

Anna Osborne, from the Family Reference Group, and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

* 'We're going in' - Government unveils decision to re-enter Pike River Mine

* Pike River re-entry plan to be revealed

The concrete seal at the portal that blocks the entrance to the Pike River coal mine.

* The promise to Pike River miners: 'We will not rest and we will never give up. We will return'**

The families would be able to witness the opening of the double airlock doors 'and the re-entry team stepping through', Gawn said.

Flames coming out of a ventilation shaft at Pike River Mine after a fourth explosion in 2010.

Anna Osborne, who lost her husband Milton in the disaster, said they were told on Monday that the sealed mine drift would be reopened at a private attempt on Tuesday morning.

'It's exciting. I will be there and many other families will make the trip up there to the portal,' she said.

Andrew Little announced the re-entry delay on May 2.

Osborne said the families requested to attend the opening, but no dignitaries or media would be present.

'We just want one day for families to reflect and be able to show their emotions together,' she said.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern described the reopening as a 'symbolic' removal of the last piece of concrete sealing the mine drift.

She did not confirm the date or time of the re-entry but described it as a event for the families, 'keeping in mind that there will be quite a bit of time as work is done to safely continue the entry into the drift'.

Re-entry would 'take a number weeks and months', she said.

'It's a progressive piece of work as they move beyond the barrier created by the concrete which will be removed, I understand, in the coming days'.

Ardern said safety was the number one priority, which the families understood and were being very patient about.

The Government was leaving it up to the Pike River Recovery Agency to keep families informed of progress, she said, and she would not be present at the breaking of the seal.

A spokeswoman for the Pike River Recovery Agency said they were preparing to re-enter the mine, but could not give further details. The mine was sealed for safety reasons after the 2010 explosion.

A leaking sampling tube was confirmed as the cause for delaying re-entry into the Pike River mine drift two-and-a-half weeks ago, but it is not yet known what caused the leak.

The re-entry is expected to cost $36 million, and it is hoped it will provide clues as to what caused the explosion.