Pike River Recovery Agency chief executive Dave Gawn said he expected re-entry and forensic work in the mine’s access tunnel will take another three months, followed by … The work to re-enter the Pike River mine has reached a significant step, with the workers last night reaching the Rocsil Plug near the end of the drift. Design of the Pike River mine. Pike River mine re-entry: Retrieving human remains possible, says recovery boss. 1 Oct, 2020 02:26 AM 2 minutes to read. The Pike River mining disaster was a tragedy that shocked the world. Loader driven by Russell Smith recovered Date published: 6 August 2020 The loader being driven by survivor Russell Smith when the Pike River Mine exploded in 2010 was recovered from 1581m up the drift on Tuesday 4 August 2020. The workings comprise around 4.3 km of inner tunnels, from where the coal was extracted. Twenty-nine men who were in the New Zealand coal mine died when it collapsed in a series of explosions. Pike River was a small mine, still at an early stage of development. The mine is owned by Pike River Coal, the only listed coal mining and export company in New Zealand. The drift is a 2.3 km access tunnel from the entrance of the mine to the workings. In short, the de-regulation of the coal mining industry in the 90s meant there was a severe shortage of mine inspectors and shoddy, dangerous practices were allowed to develop in NZ mines. The project to mine coal at Pike River was flawed from the start. The Labour government has created the Pike River Recovery Agency to work with the Pike River families and others to plan for decisions on the manned re-entry of the Pike River mine drift. The company situation Pike’s knowledge of the geology and the extent and location of the coal seam was based on an initial 14-borehole exploration programme, supplemented by a similar number of boreholes drilled subsequently. 2 Min Read. The vision of driving a 2.3-km tunnel uphill though solid rock, across a fault into a gassy coal seam, with no alternative tunnel or shaft for ventilation or exit, ignored international coal-mining experience. Following so closely on the heels of the Christchurch earthquake in 2011, the Pike River Mine disaster was a tragic end to a year of preventable deaths. A kinship born out of tragedy. Pike River Mine workers reach 'real milestone' in recovery operation. Picture by Stuff. Pike River mine latest news. It is located about 50km north-east of Greymouth in the west coast region of South Island. A 2012 royal commission found Pike River Coal guilty of operating an unsafe mine and failing to heed numerous warnings from employees. 3 months ago. Pike River Mine underground mine workers withdrawn after the presence of carcinogens found. Pike River Mine is the second largest hard coking coal export mine in New Zealand. 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