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PIKE RIVER MINE... the aftermath

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« Reply #100 on: December 06, 2011, 05:27:36 am »



Former Pike River chief refuses to return to attend inquiry
DEIDRE MUSSEN
Last updated 05:00 06/12/2011

One of Pike River Coal's top managers has refused to appear or give written evidence for the royal commission of inquiry into the deaths of 29 men in the November 2010 blast.

Former Pike River Coal chief executive Gordon Ward, who had been involved with the mine for 12 years, declined to return from Australia to be a witness at the inquiry.

Ward was the mine's chief executive from May 2007 until seven weeks before the mine exploded.

He moved to Australia to work for the Queensland Coal Corporation, although the corporation revealed yesterday that he left that job several weeks ago.

A commission spokeswoman confirmed Ward had been asked to give evidence at this month's hearings, which resumed in the Greymouth District Court yesterday.

However, he declined to give oral or written evidence for any of the inquiry's four phases, she said.

"We can't compel him to give evidence as compulsion orders don't apply overseas and he is in Australia now," the spokeswoman said.

Ward's Wellington lawyer, Justin Smith, said yesterday he was not authorised to make comment on Ward's behalf.

The Press has previously sought comment from Ward in Queensland about the inquiry, but he has not responded to messages.

Ward's involvement with the Pike River mine began in 1998 when he became responsible for the project as general manager of its main shareholder, New Zealand Oil and Gas. He joined Pike River Coal's board in 2006.

A spokesman for some of the families of the 29 victims, Bernie Monk, said Ward had an ethical responsibility to return to New Zealand to answer questions about the mine.

A focus of the royal commission of inquiry during the next two weeks was to examine the Pike River Coal directors' roles and the company's structure and decision-making.

It would also delve into Pike River's risk management and whether it complied with mining laws and recognised practices.

Former Pike River chairman John Dow will give evidence at the inquiry this week.

Yesterday, Pike's former safety and training co-ordinator, Adrian Couchman, told the inquiry that workers believed management had a "low level of commitment to safety" by failing to enforce safety policies.

Couchman, who had no mining experience before starting at Pike River in 2008, raised concerns about slow action by managers over reported hazards.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/pike-river-mine-disaster/6090101/Former-Pike-River-chief-refuses-to-return-to-attend-inquiry
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« Reply #101 on: December 08, 2011, 01:52:40 pm »


Pike River: bags covered up gas sensors
By Hayden Donnell
Updated 11:42 AM Thursday Dec 8, 2011   

Plastic bags were placed over gas sensors and explosives were used in an unsafe manner inside the Pike River mine, its "gutted" former safety manager says.

Neville Rockhouse is giving evidence to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Pike River mine disaster that killed his son Ben and 28 other men.

Another of his sons, Daniel Rockhouse, was hailed as a hero after surviving the first mine blast and helping another man to escape the mine.

Mr Rockhouse said Daniel had since told him safety breaches were common inside Pike River.

Those included placing plastic bags over gas sensors, impairing the ability to pick up spiking levels of potentially explosive methane, he said.

He claimed explosives were used to help spread bags of stone dust against the walls of the mine - a process aimed at preventing coal dust explosions.

"I was absolutely gutted. I couldn't believe it. We'd put so much work into that place....It's beyond comprehension...

The rules of mining are written in blood."

Mr Rockhouse also spoke about falling out "big time" with former Pike River chief executive Peter Whittall.

"He'd give me a hard time but he'd also give a lot of the other managers a hard time.

"He could be a very intimidating man and a lot of the people on site were intimidated by him, that's fair to say."

Mr Rockhouse said his relationship with other managers disintegrated until the point he could not handle it.

At one point, a fellow manager told him to "keep your bloody nose out of it" when he had offered advice on a report.

He resigned twice and was talked out of his decision each time.


By Hayden Donnell

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10771821

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Pike chief 'undermined' managers
Last updated 14:33 08/12/2011

LATEST: Pike River Coal former chief executive Peter Whittall had an "autocratic" management style and would verbally attack managers at meetings, an inquiry into a fatal explosion at the coalmine has heard.

Pike's former safety and training manager, Neville Rockhouse, today told the royal commission into the deaths of 29 men about the breakdown in his relationship with Whittall.

In March last year, Whittall yelled at him and slapped the wall during powerpoint presentation by him and a work colleague.

"Mr Whittall ripped our presentation to pieces and humiliated me in front of my peers."

He later mocked and mimicked Rockhouse over the presentation, then "melted down" in front of the managers.

"I had never experienced anything like that in my entire career and in my view, this action undermined my role as the safety manager in front of my peers.

"It seemed to me from that point that more and more, many of the one-on-one discussions between Mr Whittall and

I became either quite heated or strained."

Later that day, all the other department managers checked on Rockhouse and told him they were appalled by Whittall's behaviour.

Rockhouse wanted to resign after that but was persuaded out of it by the mine's then-general manager, Doug White, who told him to take some "concrete pills".

He blamed Whittall's autocratic style in causing a high turnover of managers, including six or seven different underground mine managers in the two years prior to the explosion.

"The commonly used term around the mine was that it was Mr Whittall's way or the highway."

Whittall's commitment to safety declined as production challenges and business pressures increased, Rockhouse said.

Hazard identification was robust but some key hazards were not appropriately addressed, including a viable second escape route, gas management, ventilation and needing tube bundling to test gas levels, he said.

He criticised Pike River Coal's planning, saying it had insufficient geological knowledge from the beginning.

"There was an 'over promise and under delivery' mentality at the top of the organisation. In mining situations today, the technology is available to very accurately forecast a resource and plan accordingly. Failure to adequately plan in this regard, in my view, placed extra stress on production, which in turn placed extra stress on safety."

Rockhouse dedicated his 73-page written brief to 29 colleagues, their families and all the sons and daughters who no longer had a father.

I do not know what caused the first explosion on 19 November, 2010, but for this commission to get to the truth, everything needs to be told."

His son, Ben, 21, was one of the 29 dead men and another son, Daniel, 25, survived the blast and dragged colleague Russell Smith to safety.

MANAGER 'GUTTED' OVER FAILINGS

A long list of safety failings exposed after the Pike River mine exploded ''absolutely gutted'' its safety and training manager, the inquiry into the deaths of 29 men has heard.

Rockhouse began giving evidence this morning and said he believed the mine was safe at the time and the explosion was ''right out of the box''.

However, he later learned of serious unsafe acts prior to the blast from his son, Daniel.

Rockhouse said one issue was people putting plastic bags over gas sensors, an offence that deserved immediate dismissal, he said.

''I was gobsmacked. I was absolutely gutted. I couldn't believe it.

''My understanding is that this was due to peer pressure and borne from continuous production delays within some of the underground crews.''

Explosives had been used to blow stone dust on to the mine's walls, a move that was ''beyond comprehension'', Rockhouse said.

Other ''gut-wrenching and horrifying'' stories of ongoing problems underground came from families of the dead men.

''The rules of mining are written in blood,'' Rockhouse said.

He had ''been to hell and back three times in the past year''.

Rockhouse, who had about 25 years experience in mining, mainly opencast pits in Australia, and a master's degree in occupational health and safety, believed he didn't spend enough time underground, blaming work pressures for preventing that.

He went underground about once a month and had been scheduled to give a safety talk to Daniel's crew on the day of the explosion, but was detained in a meeting.

''Based on what I now know, I would have camped underground.''

Mine managers wanted world-class safety systems but they were ''just words'' because they put inadequate resources in place, which made that impossible, he said.

There were only two full-time staff in the mine's safety department. In total the mine had 180 employees and more than 60-70 contractors.

This was ''extremely difficult and at times untenable''.

Pressure on all the mine's departments became ''quite overwhelming'' in the 14 months leading up to November 19 last year, he said.

Use of the wrong plant and equipment was to blame, exacerbated by machinery frequently breaking down.

The engineering department was particularly bad at complying with safety issues and was fast becoming ''its own little kingdom'', he said.

Under-staffing and insufficient information about the mine's geology put significant pressure on its technical services department.

Rockhouse kept asking the mine's then general manager, Peter Whittall (who became the chief executive), and later, Doug White (Whittall's replacement), for more resources.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/pike-river-mine-disaster/6108109/Pike-chief-undermined-managers



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Magoo
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« Reply #102 on: December 08, 2011, 03:40:06 pm »

Lots of finger pointing and back stabbing going on now.   Makes you wonder why anyone worked there at all given how dangerous it was.       
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« Reply #103 on: December 16, 2011, 04:03:02 am »


Lots of finger pointing and back stabbing going on now.   Makes you wonder why anyone worked there at all given how dangerous it was.      



Rockhouse himself was a safety officer,  with two sons down the mine.

http://www.morefm.co.nz/Pike-River---Rockhouse-Email--Song/tabid/96/articleID/356/Default.aspx
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« Reply #104 on: December 20, 2011, 04:00:49 am »



Articles on prospect of entry into Pike River Mine 'misleading'
Voxy
Recent articles have conveyed a misleading impression to the public and the Families regarding the prospect of entry into the Pike River Mine for the purpose of recovery of the men. First, it has been suggested that the mine can now be re-entered. ...
See all stories on this topic »

http://www.voxy.co.nz/national/articles-prospect-entry-pike-river-mine-misleading/5/110992


Recovery of Pike River bodies may take years
Herald Sun
THE recovery of the bodies of 29 workers killed in New Zealand's Pike River coal mine may take years and a trust will ensure a new mine owner does recover the bodies, receiver John Fisk of PricewaterhouseCoopers says. Mining industry sources have ...
See all stories on this topic »

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/recovery-of-pike-river-bodies-may-take-years/story-e6frf7jx-1226225076121

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Alicat
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« Reply #105 on: December 20, 2011, 06:30:57 am »

It really saddens me that the family and media keep referring to 'body recovery.' Are there truly 'bodies' in the mine or are we talking about ashes? I know this is a delicate subject and it is not my intent to be insensitive, however with the number and force of the explosions underground, surely there are no bodies left to be retrieved. I understand the suffering of the families and friends. I accept they are after closure. I accept that they want to bring their loved ones home - but are there loved ones there to bring home? IF the 'rescue teams' are able to get into the mine and try and locate the 29 Miners, isn't it extremely probable that they will only find cremated remains? Let's assume that is what they do find IF they are ever able to gain access, what happens then? Do the families then need to go through the trauma of the ashes having to be gone through to try and ascertain whose ashes belong to who?

Once again, it is not my intention to be insensitive, however, surely these 29 Miners should be allowed to rest in peace - where they are? Wouldn't this be the time to seal the mine and set up a memorial - let this be their final resting place?
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« Reply #106 on: December 20, 2011, 06:50:51 am »


Thanks, Ali.  I feel that way too
   
http://www.3news.co.nz/Mother-calls-for-Pike-River-mine-to-be-sealed/tabid/309/articleID/188299/Default.aspx         Sad view video
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« Reply #107 on: January 22, 2012, 08:23:56 am »

my mind boggles  at Dept says staff not in gun.

seems a bit funnyhaha to me... what  "25 charges over alleged health and safety breaches at the West Coast mine." ?
* I hope that The Sinking Lid has donged 'em hard without a trial if they aren't being charged*

Labour Dept says staff not in gun
NEIL REID
Last updated 05:00 22/01/2012

Labour Department officials have ruled out prosecuting their own staff over alleged failings in the lead-up to the Pike River mining tragedy.

Green Party MP Kevin Hague had sought clarification after the department laid 25 charges over alleged health and safety breaches at the West Coast mine.

He called on officials to consider action against their own staff, including Department of Labour inspectors whose job it was to ensure the mine was safe.

 


read the rest at
 
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/6295128/Labour-Dept-says-staff-not-in-gun  


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« Reply #108 on: January 24, 2012, 07:16:40 pm »

re my previous post in this thread:

update

Department of Labour refuses to investigate own role in Pike River tragedy
 
That is despite serious shortcomings in the way it resourced and carried out mine inspections being exposed during the Royal Commission of Inquiry.


The Department of Labour charged Peter Whittall, Pike River Coal Ltd and VLI drilling over the disaster (AAP)
 

there's more at
http://www.3news.co.nz/Department-of-Labour-refuses-to-investigate-own-role-in-Pike-River-tragedy/tabid/423/articleID/240507/Default.aspx
 














who the hell gave them immunity from prosecution?


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« Reply #109 on: February 08, 2012, 12:40:05 pm »


Roof collapse triggered tragedy
Last updated 11:46 08/02/2012
DEIDRE MUSSEN
Fairfax NZ

Pike River's fatal explosion has been blamed on a roof collapse expelling explosive gas around the mine, which was then ignited by a spark from the electrical system after water pumps were switched on.

Twenty-nine men died in the November 2010 West Coast coalmine blast.

The royal commission of inquiry into the disaster, which is tasked with determining the cause of the explosion, has resumed today, the first sitting for 2012.

Before starting this morning, chairman Justice Graham Panckhurst told media that a panel of five experts, most from overseas, had worked out the explosion's most likely cause.

They believed the mine's roof collapsed in the hydro-mining goaf, the void left behind after coal was extracted, pushing a large amount of methane into the mine.

Panckhurst said the experts believed the explosion was methane-based, possibly with a small contribution from coal dust.

That methane had to mix with air to reach an explosive range of 5 to 15 per cent, but needed an ignition source, which was most likely arcing from the mine's electrical system, he said.

The mine exploded soon after surface controller Daniel Duggan switched on the water pumps, which had been off for maintenance. He was in no way responsible for the explosion.

The mine had a ''variable speed drive'' that provided power to the high-pressure water pumps and moderated power supply, but arcing could occur if there were distortions in the electricity current.

Hydro-mining began at the mine about six weeks earlier, Panckhurst said.

Commission lawyer James Wilding today told the hearing the cause of the explosion would be a major focus of hearings for the rest of this week and next week.

He said it was possible the explosion's cause would never be known because no-one had been into the mine since the first blast on November 19, 2010.

Brett Murray, who headed the Labour Department's investigation into the tragedy, was first to take the witness stand this morning.

He said the investigation involved three main areas: assessing the adequacy of Pike River Coal's systems, the explosion's root causes and how to prevent such a tragedy in the future.

It was the department's largest investigation, with 13 full-time investigators working on the case for the first nine months after the blast.
 
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/pike-river-mine-disaster/6382478/Pike-River-inquiry-Roof-collapse-triggered-tragedy
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« Reply #110 on: February 15, 2012, 07:44:10 am »



Pike River electrical system may have triggered blast     http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/pike-river-electrical-system-may-have-triggered-blast-4719328
TVNZ
Pike River's "unorthodox" electrical system may have caused sparks and triggered the initial explosion, an Australian mining expert says. Tony Reczek, giving evidence today to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Pike River mine blasts, ...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Expert: Pike lacked understanding of electrical problems   
http://www.3news.co.nz/Expert-Pike-lacked-understanding-of-electrical-problems/tabid/423/articleID/242688/Default.aspx
3News NZ
By Emma Mackie An Australian consultant says employees at Pike River lacked understanding of the electrical issues that may have ignited the explosion at the mine. Tony Reczek gave detailed technical evidence at the Royal Commission of Inquiry this ...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
3News NZ
 
Many opportunities for sparking at mine, inquiry told    
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/pike-river-2010/98227/many-opportunities-for-sparking-at-mine,-inquiry-told 
 Radio New Zealand
An Australian mining consultant has told an inquiry into the Pike River Coal mine disaster the potential for sparking in the mine was great. Twenty-nine men died after a series of explosions which began at the West Coast mine on 19 November 2010.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Shocked
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« Reply #111 on: February 20, 2012, 04:36:40 am »



Investigation shows 37 mining incidents in two years
 
Sun, 19 Feb 2012 6:03p.m.
 
By Brook Sabin

Underground mining is a high risk industry and while the Pike River Royal Commission has highlighted previous safety issues at the Pike River mine, a 3 News investigation has revealed almost 40 serious incidents in the past two years at other mines throughout the country.
 
Ranging from fires underground to serious injuries – such as a broken back – and even one worker falling asleep at the wheel of a mining vehicle, documents supplied under the Official Information Act have revealed 37 serious incidents, including 13 incidents involving fire or heating issues.
 
See the documents here  http://www.3news.co.nz/pv_obj_cache/pv_obj_id_4E2A5248EFFFFD0EB2E413B22A806BF03EDB0200/filename/mine-incidents.pdf
 
“I think it is a concern and reflects the kind of concerns that have come out of the Royal Commission into the Pike River disaster,” says mine safety adviser, Dave Feickert.
 
The papers reveal 10 incidents of miners losing control of their vehicles and eight serious incidents of roof falls - including a large slab of coal hitting the head of a worker who shook, vomited and then fell unconscious. In a separate incident an even larger slab fell, breaking a miner’s back.
 
“We desperately need a mining culture in which safety is absolutely paramount – and we don’t have that yet,” says West Coast based MP Kevin Hague.
 
The Department of Labour, however, insists it is getting on top of mine safety
 
“We recognise within the department we can improve, that’s the reason why the high hazards unit has been setup – that’s why I’m over from Queensland to assist, to make sure we have the best possible regulations,” says Gavin Taylor, the acting chief mines inspector who heads the newly established high hazards unit.
 
And Mr Taylor has already made his mark, closing a mine due to safety issues earlier in the week, and telling others they need to improve.
 
3 News

http://www.3news.co.nz/Investigation-shows-37-mining-incidents-in-two-years/tabid/423/articleID/243395/Default.aspx


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« Reply #112 on: February 26, 2012, 03:26:37 pm »


interviewing a typewriter?

Shock revelations at Pike River mine

NEIL REID

Last updated 05:00 26/02/2012

Photographs show some Pike River workers survived the first explosion at the mine and had opened self-rescue kits, says families' spokesman Bernie Monk.

One set of photos seen by the families shows that a box containing self-rescue kits had been opened.
Monk said it was proof some of the 29 miners had survived the initial explosion at Pike River on November 19, 2010.

It was a theory that many of the miners' and contractors' loved ones had steadfastly believed.
A second massive explosion, four days after the fi rst blast, eliminated any hope of survival, police said at the time.

Other photos which have been shown to the families are so clear that they have been able to positively identify the intact bodies of two men.

Family members are now debating whether to publicly release the photos showing the dead miners in a bid to kick-start a body recovery mission.

Any decision to release the pictures lies with the Royal Commission of Inquiry that is seeking to find the cause of the mining tragedy.
"There are two men - we know who the two people are,'' Monk told the Sunday Star-Times. ...

more at http://www.stuff.co.nz/sunday-star-times/latest-edition/6481432/Shock-revelations-at-Pike-River-mine

 
HuhHuhHuhHuhHuhHuh??

Pike River Families Media Release
Sunday, 26 February 2012, 3:03 pm

Press Release: Pike River Families Committee


Pike River Families Media Release

Further to the story in today's Sunday Star Times and on behalf of the Pike River Families Group, I am forwarding the following media release.
 
A Sunday Star Times report today is misleading and needs correction. There are no “shock revelations” as the article suggests. Mr Bernie Monk is quoted as saying that “photographs show some Pike River workers survived the first explosion at the mine and had opened self-rescue kits”. This refers to evidence which has been fully developed in the Royal Commission hearings over many months. Whether men survived the first explosion and the possibility of self-rescuers being accessed has been considered in evidence before the Chief Coroner and again in the Royal Commission and it is up to the Royal Commission to address these issues.

The article refers to bodies being “positively” identified. Again, this is not correct. Many of the Families have viewed the images, as has the Royal Commission who ordered that they be suppressed from publication. There has been no application to lift that suppression order, although there has been discussion to that end. This is a deeply personal and sensitive issue where all Families will have their views. The areas where the men were last known to be working have been identified so some inferences may be drawn as to identity but that is as far as this can be taken without better images or entry into the mine.

The article also refers to the fact that no one is coming to the Families with a “proper” recovery plan. This is true in the sense that Recovery has always been an incident of potential sale only. The overly optimistic timelines for reclaiming the drift and the fact that there has not been a credible recovery plan has forced the Families to secure a factual and technical understanding of what is involved through the assistance of Mr Bruce McLean, a professional project engineer.

The Families have endorsed and actively promoted the sale process and have publicly thanked and backed the Prime Minister in his stated support. However a letter has been sent to Mr Chis Auchinvole MP, in his capacity as conduit to the Prime Minister, asking that they be fully updated of discussions held between the Greymouth Mayor, the Receivers and the Prime Minister.

It is also relevant to say that there have been some Family members who have not sought recovery and their views are to be respected and brought to account by those that do.

The issue of Recovery is currently before the Royal Commission, including the entire sequence of events to date.

Yours sincerely

Nicholas Davidson QC

Counsel for the Pike River Families Group

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK1202/S00523/pike-river-families-media-release.htm

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« Reply #113 on: March 08, 2012, 10:13:33 am »



Layoffs among staff working on recovery of Pike bodies
 
Updated 43 minutes ago
 
Receivers for the Pike River Coal mine have laid off 10 staff working on the recovery of the bodies of the men who died there.
 
Twenty-nine men died after a series of explosions which began at the West Coast mine on 19 November 2010.
 
New owners are being sought for the mine, which remains sealed off.
 
Grey District mayor Tony Kokshoorn says the redundancies were expected and do not spell the end of the effort to recover the men's bodies.
 
He says 10 workers remain employed at the mine and it's expected the new owners, once found, will continue with the recovery effort.
 
Mr Kokshoorn says work is continuing on gaining access to the main tunnel into the mine.

 
Copyright © 2012, Radio New Zealand
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/100410/layoffs-among-staff-working-on-recovery-of-pike-bodies
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« Reply #114 on: March 31, 2012, 02:17:20 am »



http://au.news.yahoo.com/video/national/watch/25767631/recovery-begins-at-pike-river-mine/
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« Reply #115 on: April 05, 2012, 03:24:47 pm »



http://www.3news.co.nz/LIVE-UPDATES-Pike-River-inquiry-final-day/tabid/423/articleID/249260/Default.aspx
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« Reply #116 on: May 11, 2012, 06:24:50 am »


Slim hope of recovering mine bodies

NZ Newswire
Updated May 10, 2012, 11:22 pm

The bodies of the men killed in the Pike River Coal Mine disaster might not be recovered for years, if at all.

The devastating news was revealed to the families of the 29 victims at a meeting in Greymouth on Thursday evening with Solid Energy after the conditional purchase had been confirmed.

Solid Energy will pay an initial $7.5 million for the assets with up to an additional $25m to be paid depending on whether the mine is reopened and the level of production.

The government welcomed the sale, saying "it's committed to the recovery of the bodies, as long as it means no further risk to human life".

While Solid Energy is compelled to take all reasonable steps to recover the remains of the men who died in the November, 2010 blasts, it warns "there's only a five to 10 per cent chance of this happening".

Company boss Don Elder told Fairfax it could take up to eight years to determine whether the mine was commercially viable and if they would go into the mine.

Recovery will only occur if it is "safe, technically viable and financially credible", receivers for the mine, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), said in a statement.

Pike River Coal Limited was placed in receivership on December 13, 2010 following the fatal explosions.

Spokesman for the families, Bernie Monk, whose son Michael, 23, died in the mine, told the New Zealand Herald they had "got a reality check".

Mr Elder told the newspaper that if there was one thing that had been confirmed by the tragedy, it was that the West Coast geology and mining conditions were among the hardest in the world.

The sale was conditional on a number of mostly procedural matters including transfer of the mining permit and is a positive step towards determining the future of resource development at the mine, Minister of Energy and Resources Phil Heatley said in a statement.

"Solid Energy will be expected to take all reasonable steps to recover the remains of the men in the Pike River mine in conjunction with any commercial mining at Pike River in future, provided such an operation is safe, technically feasible and financially credible."
The final settlement of the sale is expected in July, PwC said.

http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/top-stories/13656182/slim-hope-of-recovering-mine-bodies/

Solid Energy will pay an initial $7.5 million for the assets with up to an additional $25m to be paid depending on whether the mine is reopened and the level of production.


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Newtown-Fella
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« Reply #117 on: May 11, 2012, 12:04:05 pm »

imo Pike River is becoming about as interesting as watching paint dry ....

who is actually driving news about it ? ......

isnt it about time we left things as they are ?

who really wants to receive back a body or part of one that has deteriorated after all this time if in fact there was anything left after the explosion ?

do the families really want to go through more grief when they receive back what is left of the men ?

do we really want to put more men at risk of loosing their lives in another possible explosion ?

personally i say leave the bodies where they are they are safe ....

bring them out IF its possible and the media will be fighting to get the first pics of a body splashed across the front page of every paper and beamed into every living room via TV for days and days ....





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« Reply #118 on: May 30, 2012, 06:07:38 pm »

finally ........

Pike families accept bodies may never come home

The families of the miners killed in the Pike River explosion are coming to accept they may never get their loved ones' bodies back.

Twenty-nine men were killed in a series of explosion at the West Coast mine in November 2010. Since then it has been sealed off with the bodies still inside.

State-owned company Solid Energy, which has conditionally agreed to buy the mine, held a meeting with families last night.

Afterwards the families told ONE News they are coming to accept that the likelihood of the bodies ever getting recovered is very low.

"A lot of them have said to me 'it's a weight off our mind Bernie, we can move on, we're going to support one another through these hard times,'" said families' spokesman Bernie Monk.

"So it was an important night on moving on."

Monk said last night was the first time since the explosions that families have been explained to the difficulties of getting into the mine.

"The families now realise for the first time the risk of people's lives of getting into that mine to get the recovery of our guys is far too much and outweighs the reason to go in there.

"I've learnt to accept that and will stand by that."

Monk said while families accept the likelihood of getting their loved ones back is low, the fight is not completely over.

"We've still got to realise that Solid Energy are still going to pay attention to going down the drift," Monk said.

"We still think there could be bodies on this side of the rockfall and they are working along those lines and in the near future there could be an access down the drift.

"I think they need this drift for their mining operations anyway, so there is still opportunity to getting down there and getting some of them out but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

Chloe Nieper, wife of lost miner Kane Nieper, said she is "gutted" and "frustrated," but now has the chance to move on.

"The men are always going to be in our hearts. I just hope people can have some smiles on their faces now and enjoy their time with the rest of their family and friends and just carry on," she said.

5-10% chance

Solid Energy said three weeks ago that it is committed to getting the bodies out but only if it is safe, technically feasible and financially credible to do so.

It told the families there is only a 5 to 10% chance of this happening.

Since then the families' own expert has met with Solid Energy to go through the processes and information behind their announcements, which led to last night's special meeting.

"This is part of an ongoing conversation with the families," Solid Energy spokesperson Vicki Blyth said.

"We were pleased we had the opportunity for our technical and safety people to talk with families about why we had come to the view that we had. We felt that it was a good and constructive meeting."

Prime Minister John Key said today the chance of a body recovery was remote, but not impossible.

"I think there very much is still a chance and that was why I made it as a condition of sale. If Solid Energy can get into Pike River for coal extraction, then that's the very best chance we've got of heading for a body recovery."

Key denied he had raised expectations in the past that the bodies will be recovered.

"I think we've always been realistic. I've always said to the families the best chance of getting into the mine for body recovery was aligned with the possibility of a sale of the mine."

Earlier this month families had threatened to block the road to the mine if Solid Energy failed to give assurances it would recover the miners' bodies.

http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/pike-families-accept-bodies-may-never-come-home-4904228
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« Reply #119 on: October 09, 2012, 07:57:43 am »


Pike River charged for missing robot

Home » News » Regions

 
Sat, 6 Oct 2012
News: National | The Regions: West Coast | Pike River


 An Australian company charged the Pike River Coal receivers about $170,000 for its robot, which is still stuck down the mine two years after the fatal explosions.

So many robots were sent into the mine, never to be seen again, that it was renamed a robotic 'Bermuda Triangle'.

The first, a Defence Force bomb disposal robot, short-circuited in the wet, as did another. A third robot from the Western Australian Water Corporation was sent in on November 26, 2010, but the second explosion put an end to its work.

A water corporation spokesman said this week the receivers had used another robot in March 2011 to determine the condition of the mine. That one snagged its own cable and is still down there.

"It was being leased under a commercial arrangement. When the total cost of the lease equalled the cost of replacing the robot, the receivers ceased paying the water corporation."

The internal costs of sending in a team of people, and robot, in the immediate aftermath of the disaster, had not been recovered.

The Australians went on to help police establish if the mine was safe to enter in the recovery phase. The police reimbursed the corporation, but only for the use of the robot. The robot the receivers used was a remotely operated vehicle, the spokesman said.

Pike River Coal receiver Malcolm Hollis said it paid off the robot over a six-month period at about $20,000 a month.

Bernie Monk, spokesman for some of the families, asked why the water corporation had not just gone in and got its robot out.

He also noted that large amounts of money had been spent leasing the GAG machine, which was used unsuccessfully in an effort to make the conditions inside the mine inert and safe for entry.

"Why not get Mines Rescue to put a rope on (the robot) and drag it out?"

Mr Monk said the families had been told it looked like it could be as far away as 2014 before Mines Rescue could attempt entry into the tunnel (drift).

"They've got a huge workforce now to recover the drift," he said, referring to the soon-to-be redundant Spring Creek miners. "The Government has got to step up."
 
- Laura Mills of the Greymouth Star

http://www.odt.co.nz/news/national/229212/pike-river-charged-missing-robot
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« Reply #120 on: November 07, 2012, 08:56:26 am »



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Newtown-Fella
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« Reply #121 on: November 07, 2012, 10:07:45 am »

one day hopefully this whole saga will be a distant memory ....

why cant people just accept that there are 29 men buried together a mile or two underground who today will be looking like dried prunes ....

realistically what are the families going to do with the bodies IF there are ever recovered ?

my Will states i want to be cremated how many of the 29 wanted the same ?

why dont the families want the bodies left where they are or is the recovery being driven by someone with an ulterior motive ..

now we have a bunch of independent people deciding IF a body retrieval is possible ....

wasnt it decided a while back that the body would stay put as it was possible too dangerous to enter the mine ?

who is going to take responsibility IF there is another " accident " during the retrieval process ?

bet it  be a case of " oh dear how sad they knew the risks they died heros however "

Mining experts assess Pike body recovery

 Families of the 29 men killed in the Pike River mine blast will know by the end of the week whether independent mining experts consider a body retrieval mission possible.

International mine consultants Bob Stevenson, David Creedy and Dave Feickert are in Greymouth at the request of the victims' families to provide independent advice on a mine re-entry plan.

Stevenson, a former principal mines inspector in Britain, said they hoped to have an answer for the families by Saturday.

The experts will meet Solid Energy management, Mines Rescue and local experts before making their recommendation.

Families hope the drift - a shallow tunnel that leads to the blocked area of the mine - contains the remains of some of the victims.

A plan had been presented to the experts after input from New Zealand and international mining officials.

Bernie Monk, spokesman for some of the victims' families, said that if the three experts approved a body retrieval mission, he would take the plan to Prime Minister John Key and ask him to implement it. If the experts found a re-entry was not feasible, "we must accept it".

Monk, who lost his son Michael in the November 2010 mine blast, said the families had been forced to get independent advice because Key had never shared the information on which the Government's decisions not to re-enter the mine were based.

"That still saddens me," Monk said.

Stevenson said he had been involved in many mine re-entries, but "not under such appalling mining standards as this".

He had read the damning royal commission report on the Pike River disaster, made public on Monday, and equated New Zealand mine safety standards with those in China.

The report found the men died because of massive failings by mine management and government agencies, including in health and safety legislation and monitoring.

"You couldn't have been more wrong in this mine if you planned it. You're not a Third World country. We didn't expect it of you," Stevenson said. "You've damaged your reputation."

Creedy, a methane gas specialist, said re-entering the drift, or if possible the whole mine, had to be safe and managed properly.

The three experts were giving their time for free.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/pike-river-mine-disaster/7914891/Mining-experts-assess-Pike-body-recovery





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« Reply #122 on: November 07, 2012, 06:25:41 pm »



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« Reply #123 on: November 07, 2012, 06:52:49 pm »

Yes ..John Key ...the priminister of NZ comes across as a very logical and smart guy...Peters on the other hand is really clutching at straws  and comes across as being a bit dumb..really I think Peters is past it and should do the NZ public a favour and resign from politics at the next election ...should he last there that long without being sacked Wink

..yes ..thanks for that Bruce..please post more stuff that shows all kiwis that we are in very good hands with John Key and National at the helm Cheesy
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« Reply #124 on: November 07, 2012, 07:06:44 pm »

[PPT] Pike River Coal Mine
Microsoft Powerpoint
Pike River Coal Mine PIKE RIVER COAL ACARP Presentations August 2008 Peter Whittall – General Manager, Mines Cross Section of the Coal Seams Mine Plan Roadway and ...
www.undergroundcoal.com.au/acarp_dev/August%202008/Pike%20River/... Access denied  grrrr


I posted links to this report from Tunnel Talk in this thread ages ago, dragging it up again because it mentions the unexpected fault, and methane gas during the


...Managing the unexpected

 The greatest hold up was during the months of July and August 2008 when it took more than four weeks to get through a major fault zone. “Getting through this 60m of highly disturbed rock with wide seams of clay gauge and sets of sheared coal measures, held us up for four-five weeks. There was the possibility of methane gas infiltration, which required that we bring in explosion proof equipment, and very slow going on short rounds with much increased immediate support needs. We needed to switch to NATM support systems and required primary, secondary and tertiary support with areas needing more support behind where convergence monitoring dictated.” ...


http://www.tunneltalk.com/MacDow-Feb09-Award-winner-at-Pike-River.php

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