Pike River mine
Encyclopedia
The Pike River Mine is a coal mine operated by Pike River Coal
46 km (28.6 mi) north-northeast of Greymouth
in the West Coast Region
of New Zealand
's South Island.
It was to begin production in early 2008, and was initially expected to produce around one million tonne
s of coal per year for around 20 years, making the mine the second-largest coal export mine in the country, as well as the largest underground coal mine of the country. The estimate for production was reduced to between 320,000 and 360,000 tonnes for 2011. The coal of the mine is described as "New Zealand's largest known deposit of high fluidity and quality hard coking coal" (a type of coal in high demand for iron smelting
), and was expected to earn around NZ$170 million in export income annually.
Various setbacks occurred during late 2007 and early 2008 delaying the start of coal production. While mine operators were originally confident that production would still start in 2008 (having reached within 400 m (1,312.3 ft) of the coal seam in early 2008), in mid 2009 the mine was still not producing at expected levels, with the target of the first 60,000 tons of coal to be shipped having slipped to early 2010. The mine operators noted that technical difficulties with several mining machines were to blame for the delays, which also forced the company to ask for an extension from its financiers.
An explosion on Friday 19 November 2010
trapped 29 workers inside the mine. Rescuers delayed entering the mine, due to the risk of another explosion. On 24 November, a second explosion occurred and it was subsequently presumed that the workers could not have survived. A third explosion occurred at 3:39 pm 26 November; it appeared to be smaller than the first two. A fourth explosion occurred on 28 November at 1:55 pm. As of January 2011 the mine has been ordered sealed and the recovery attempt abandoned for the time being.
history going back to the 1970s, with the first geologists and surveyors having explored the area in the 1940s. The mine is located approximately halfway between Greymouth and Reefton, close to the Pike Stream, a tributary of the Big River
in a region that already has a long history of coal- and gold-mining activity. It is located on Crown land
administered by the Department of Conservation, and adjacent to the Paparoa National Park
. Because of the status of the land, Pike River Coal Ltd had to obtain the Minister of Conservation's agreement to an access arrangement for mining under Section 61(2) of the Crown Minerals Act 2001.
On 12 March 2004, Minister of Conservation Chris Carter
approved the access arrangement for Pike River Coal Ltd. The arrangement included four 1.5 metres (4.9 ft)-wide emergency escape shafts within the boundaries of Paparoa National Park and a requirement for Pike River Coal Ltd to spend NZ$70,000 annually on conservation projects. Carter stated that the "safeguards and compensation" outweighed the inconsistencies with objectives of the Conservation Act 1987
and the relevant management plans.
Due to the location, the conditions of the access arrangement included special considerations for the environment, such as minimising tree felling and a requirement to reinstate all above-ground areas after the cessation of mining. Opponents of the mine strongly criticised the approval of the access agreement, noting that the coal is not intended for domestic use but simply a commercial operation, and thus should not have been allowed to go forward in a sensitive location. Forest & Bird
also criticised the fact that the Minister of Conservation chose to ignore the report from the Department of Conservation stating that the mine would be damaging to the local environment. Greenpeace Aotearoa New Zealand
also criticised the project for furthering the use of fossil fuel
s instead of developing sustainable alternatives.
, the Minister of Energy and Resources and Minister for Economic Development, formally opened the mine. However, production was slow initially, and took until 2009/2010 to reach significant levels.
The coal is mined 200 m (656.2 ft) underground, at 800 m (2,624.7 ft) above sea level, quarrying coal from the Brunner coal seam. The coal is taken from the mine via a 'drift', a gently-sloping 5 degree tunnel 2.3 km (1.4 mi) long. This tunnel has taken large amounts of dynamite to create, as the rock is described as being up to four times harder than concrete. Since the coal face will be located higher than the tunnel entrance, removal of material to a processing plant 10.6 km (6.6 mi) away will be via a slurry pipeline
(with a 35% solids share).
Another major feature of the underground works is a 110 metres (360.9 ft)-deep ventilation shaft. After local ground conditions were found to be worse than expected, it was excavated with a raise-bore
system excavating the 4.25 m (13.9 ft) ventilation shaft from a 0.35 m (1.1 ft) pilot drill shaft. Access to the top of the ventilation shaft is by helicopter only, even during construction, as conservation restrictions do not allow roads to be built to reach this point.
The mine also includes underground excavation for the coal slurry handling facility and mine water storage and pumping equipment, with several large galleries of up to 5.5 m (18 ft) width and 11 m (36.1 ft) height to be excavated. As of 2010, the mine has three main "drives" (shafts).
Originally, once at the processing plant, coal was to be trucked to Greymouth
for reshipment at the local port. On 27 November 2007, it was announced that the coal from the mine would be transported to Lyttelton
for export rather than the previously proposed shipment via the Port of Taranaki. The company has reserved under contract with Toll Rail
(now KiwiRail
) 1.3 million tonnes of capacity for their coal on the Midland Line
between Greymouth and Christchurch
, which since upgrading by ONTRACK
has a total capacity of four million tonnes per annum.
The mine was to have about 150 full-time staff, though in 2007-2008, there were problems filling all positions, partly because of high demand for the same occupations in the Australian and international job markets. In February 2010, Pike River Mine made its first export shipment of 20,000 tonnes of premium hard coking coal to India.
The mine is estimated to have generated about $80 million of economic benefits to the West Coast Region, about $13 million of that in wages.
and it appeared there was little chance of finding any of the miners alive. Although families had held out hope that some of the miners may have survived, it was believed by the rescue team that all had been killed by the initial explosion. The mine had not collapsed and air was blowing freely throughout the tunnels indicating that there were no obstructions to survivors leaving the mine or indicating their presence by tapping on pipes or calling for help.
At 2:37 PM NZDT
on 24 November, a second explosion occurred, which was so severe that later that afternoon Peter Whittall (CEO of Pike River Coal Ltd) announced that it was extremely unlikely that any of the miners were still alive, as the magnitude of the second explosion and the high levels of toxic gases were too great for anyone to be able to survive.
A third explosion occurred at 3:39 PM 26 November; it appeared to be smaller than the first two. On Sunday, 28 November at 1:55 PM NZDT
, a fourth explosion occurred. Flames and smoke poured out of the mine causing nearby scrub to catch fire. Whittall stated there was now a coal fire burning in the mine rather than a gas fire. It is unknown at this time if the actual coal seam is on fire or if it is "rubbish" coal that has been dislodged from previous explosions.
A mine expert theorised that a blast furnace level of heat could have occurred within the mine, reaching over 1200 °C (2,192 °F).
A collapse of any part of the mine was however considered unlikely because of the strength of the construction.
On November 10 2011 charges were laid against 3 parties in the Greymouth District Court. The charges relate to alleged Health & Safety failings at the mine. At the time of writing the parties against whom the charges have been laid have been withheld.
stock exchanges. It raised NZ$85 million in additional capital for expanding the mine in 2007. As of August 2007, over NZ$100 million had already been invested into developing the mine.
The development was valued at NZ$2.3 billion and was initially held by New Zealand Oil & Gas (29% stake plus options and bonds) as well as the two Indian companies, Gujarat NRE Coke Limited (17% share), and Saurashtra Fuels Private Limited (15% share), with the two latter companies intending to buy about half the running production of the mine's coal. After the IPO
, the ownership percentages changed to NZ Oil and Gas 31%, Gujarat NRE Coke 10%, Saurashtra Fuels 8.5%, with private minority shareholders holding 7.9% and the remaining 42.5% having been sold to the general public.
Pike River Coal originally stated that they hoped to be able to reopen the mine, hopefully before the completion of the inquiry. There is also some concern about the direct economic consequences of the current mine closure
, as contracts for work related to the mine have been cancelled or are stalled. The mine remains closed as of the end of 2010, with no indications when or if it would reopen. Most staff have been made redundant, and many contractors are also unemployed or remain unpaid for earlier work.
In early 2011, it was reported that the receiver was considering different ways of treating the remaining assets of the Pike River Mine Ltd company. While it was possible that the mine would be sold, the option of fencing the area and returning it to the Department of Conservation was a 'worst case' possibility. On 9 March 2011, the receivers took over full control of the mine from the NZ Police.
In March 2011, Solid Energy
was looking at purchasing the coal rights and access arrangements. The company said that any proposal to buy and reactivate the mine would include recovery of the dead miner's bodies, if feasible. They also noted that they saw the potential need to combine underground with opencast mining
at the site. With the site sitting on conservation land, this is likely to be controversial. Open-cast mining in a national Park is banned by the Crown Minerals Act. The Pike River mine reaches the Brunner coal seam at depths of 150 to 200 metres below ground level. This is deeper than other NZ open-cast coal mines and likely to be uneconomic.
In August 2011, KiwiRail
blamed the Canterbury Earthquakes and "loss of Pike River Mine volumes" for its poor end of year result in 20102011.
Pike River Coal
Pike River Coal Ltd is a mining company listed on the New Zealand and Australian stock exchanges. The company owns the rights to a premium hard coking coal resource in the South Island of New Zealand...
46 km (28.6 mi) north-northeast of Greymouth
Greymouth
Greymouth is the largest town in the West Coast region in the South Island of New Zealand, and the seat of the Grey District Council. The population of the whole Grey District is , which accounts for % of the West Coast's inhabitants...
in the West Coast Region
West Coast, New Zealand
The West Coast is one of the administrative regions of New Zealand, located on the west coast of the South Island, and is one of the more remote and most sparsely populated areas of the country. It is made up of three districts: Buller, Grey and Westland...
of New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
's South Island.
It was to begin production in early 2008, and was initially expected to produce around one million tonne
Tonne
The tonne, known as the metric ton in the US , often put pleonastically as "metric tonne" to avoid confusion with ton, is a metric system unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. The tonne is not an International System of Units unit, but is accepted for use with the SI...
s of coal per year for around 20 years, making the mine the second-largest coal export mine in the country, as well as the largest underground coal mine of the country. The estimate for production was reduced to between 320,000 and 360,000 tonnes for 2011. The coal of the mine is described as "New Zealand's largest known deposit of high fluidity and quality hard coking coal" (a type of coal in high demand for iron smelting
Blast furnace
A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally iron.In a blast furnace, fuel and ore and flux are continuously supplied through the top of the furnace, while air is blown into the bottom of the chamber, so that the chemical reactions...
), and was expected to earn around NZ$170 million in export income annually.
Various setbacks occurred during late 2007 and early 2008 delaying the start of coal production. While mine operators were originally confident that production would still start in 2008 (having reached within 400 m (1,312.3 ft) of the coal seam in early 2008), in mid 2009 the mine was still not producing at expected levels, with the target of the first 60,000 tons of coal to be shipped having slipped to early 2010. The mine operators noted that technical difficulties with several mining machines were to blame for the delays, which also forced the company to ask for an extension from its financiers.
An explosion on Friday 19 November 2010
Pike River Mine disaster
The Pike River Mine disaster was a coal mining accident that began on 19 November 2010 in the Pike River Mine, northeast of Greymouth, in the West Coast Region of New Zealand's South Island. A first explosion occurred in the mine at approximately 3:44 pm . At the time of the explosion 31...
trapped 29 workers inside the mine. Rescuers delayed entering the mine, due to the risk of another explosion. On 24 November, a second explosion occurred and it was subsequently presumed that the workers could not have survived. A third explosion occurred at 3:39 pm 26 November; it appeared to be smaller than the first two. A fourth explosion occurred on 28 November at 1:55 pm. As of January 2011 the mine has been ordered sealed and the recovery attempt abandoned for the time being.
Approvals history
The mine has a development and consentingResource consent
A resource consent is the authorisation given to certain activities or uses of natural and physical resources required under the New Zealand Resource Management Act . Some activities may either be specifically authorised by the RMA or be permitted activities authorised by rules in plans...
history going back to the 1970s, with the first geologists and surveyors having explored the area in the 1940s. The mine is located approximately halfway between Greymouth and Reefton, close to the Pike Stream, a tributary of the Big River
Big River, West Coast
The Big River, New Zealand is a river in the West Coast region of the South Island of New Zealand. It is a tributary of the Grey River-References:* - Search for Place Names* Topographic map...
in a region that already has a long history of coal- and gold-mining activity. It is located on Crown land
Crown land
In Commonwealth realms, Crown land is an area belonging to the monarch , the equivalent of an entailed estate that passed with the monarchy and could not be alienated from it....
administered by the Department of Conservation, and adjacent to the Paparoa National Park
Paparoa National Park
Paparoa National Park is on the west coast of the South Island of New Zealand.It was established in 1987 and encompasses 306 km². The park ranges from on or near the coastline to the peak of the Paparoa Ranges. A separate section of the park is to the north and is centered at Ananui Creek.The...
. Because of the status of the land, Pike River Coal Ltd had to obtain the Minister of Conservation's agreement to an access arrangement for mining under Section 61(2) of the Crown Minerals Act 2001.
On 12 March 2004, Minister of Conservation Chris Carter
Chris Carter (politician)
Christopher Joseph Carter was an independent Member of Parliament in New Zealand, and a former member of the New Zealand Labour Party until his expulsion. Carter was a senior Cabinet Minister in the Fifth Labour Government of New Zealand, serving lastly as Minister of Education, Minister...
approved the access arrangement for Pike River Coal Ltd. The arrangement included four 1.5 metres (4.9 ft)-wide emergency escape shafts within the boundaries of Paparoa National Park and a requirement for Pike River Coal Ltd to spend NZ$70,000 annually on conservation projects. Carter stated that the "safeguards and compensation" outweighed the inconsistencies with objectives of the Conservation Act 1987
Conservation Act 1987
The Conservation Act 1987 is New Zealand's principal act concerning the conservation of indigenous biodiversity. The Act established the Department of Conservation and Fish and Game, and complements the National Parks Act 1980 and the Reserves Act 1997....
and the relevant management plans.
Due to the location, the conditions of the access arrangement included special considerations for the environment, such as minimising tree felling and a requirement to reinstate all above-ground areas after the cessation of mining. Opponents of the mine strongly criticised the approval of the access agreement, noting that the coal is not intended for domestic use but simply a commercial operation, and thus should not have been allowed to go forward in a sensitive location. Forest & Bird
Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand
The Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand Inc. is an environmental organisation specialising in conservation of indigenous plant and animal life in and around New Zealand....
also criticised the fact that the Minister of Conservation chose to ignore the report from the Department of Conservation stating that the mine would be damaging to the local environment. Greenpeace Aotearoa New Zealand
Greenpeace Aotearoa New Zealand
Greenpeace Aotearoa New Zealand is one of New Zealand's largest environmental organisations, and is a national office of the global environmental organisation Greenpeace.-History:...
also criticised the project for furthering the use of fossil fuel
Fossil fuel
Fossil fuels are fuels formed by natural processes such as anaerobic decomposition of buried dead organisms. The age of the organisms and their resulting fossil fuels is typically millions of years, and sometimes exceeds 650 million years...
s instead of developing sustainable alternatives.
Mine operation
In October 2008, coal production started and in November 2008, Gerry BrownleeGerry Brownlee
Gerard Anthony "Gerry" Brownlee is a New Zealand politician. He served from 17 November 2003 to 27 November 2006 as deputy-leader of the National Party – during that period the second-largest party in the New Zealand Parliament, and thus forming the core of the Opposition...
, the Minister of Energy and Resources and Minister for Economic Development, formally opened the mine. However, production was slow initially, and took until 2009/2010 to reach significant levels.
The coal is mined 200 m (656.2 ft) underground, at 800 m (2,624.7 ft) above sea level, quarrying coal from the Brunner coal seam. The coal is taken from the mine via a 'drift', a gently-sloping 5 degree tunnel 2.3 km (1.4 mi) long. This tunnel has taken large amounts of dynamite to create, as the rock is described as being up to four times harder than concrete. Since the coal face will be located higher than the tunnel entrance, removal of material to a processing plant 10.6 km (6.6 mi) away will be via a slurry pipeline
Slurry pipeline
A slurry pipeline is used in mining to transport mineral concentrate from a mineral processing plant near a mine.- Overview :The concentrate of the ore is mixed with water and then pumped over a long distance to a port where it can be shipped for further processing. At the end of the pipeline, the...
(with a 35% solids share).
Another major feature of the underground works is a 110 metres (360.9 ft)-deep ventilation shaft. After local ground conditions were found to be worse than expected, it was excavated with a raise-bore
Raise borer
A raise borer is a machine used in underground mining, to excavate a circular hole between two levels of a mine without the use of explosives.The raise borer is set up on the upper level of the two levels to be connected, on an evenly laid platform...
system excavating the 4.25 m (13.9 ft) ventilation shaft from a 0.35 m (1.1 ft) pilot drill shaft. Access to the top of the ventilation shaft is by helicopter only, even during construction, as conservation restrictions do not allow roads to be built to reach this point.
The mine also includes underground excavation for the coal slurry handling facility and mine water storage and pumping equipment, with several large galleries of up to 5.5 m (18 ft) width and 11 m (36.1 ft) height to be excavated. As of 2010, the mine has three main "drives" (shafts).
Originally, once at the processing plant, coal was to be trucked to Greymouth
Greymouth
Greymouth is the largest town in the West Coast region in the South Island of New Zealand, and the seat of the Grey District Council. The population of the whole Grey District is , which accounts for % of the West Coast's inhabitants...
for reshipment at the local port. On 27 November 2007, it was announced that the coal from the mine would be transported to Lyttelton
Lyttelton, New Zealand
Lyttelton is a port town on the north shore of Lyttelton Harbour close to Banks Peninsula, a suburb of Christchurch on the eastern coast of the South Island of New Zealand....
for export rather than the previously proposed shipment via the Port of Taranaki. The company has reserved under contract with Toll Rail
Toll NZ
Toll Group Limited is a New Zealand trucking company. A subsidiary of the Australian company Toll Holdings, it has its headquarters in Auckland. It carries out operations by road and in the air, and formerly by rail and sea....
(now KiwiRail
KiwiRail
KiwiRail Holdings Limited is the rail operations subsidiary of the New Zealand Railways Corporation, which trades as KiwiRail. Headquartered in Wellington, New Zealand, KiwiRail is the largest rail transport operator in New Zealand. Since July 2010 John Spencer has been the Chairman...
) 1.3 million tonnes of capacity for their coal on the Midland Line
Midland Line, New Zealand
The Midland line is a 212 km section of railway between Rolleston and Greymouth in the South Island of New Zealand. The line features five major bridges, five viaducts and 17 tunnels, the longest of which is the Otira tunnel.-Freight services:...
between Greymouth and Christchurch
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
, which since upgrading by ONTRACK
OnTrack
OnTrack was a regional rail line that operated in Syracuse, New York from 1994 to 2007. During its operation, Syracuse was the smallest city in the United States to have regional train service. The line ran from Colvin Street on the city's south side via Syracuse University and Armory Square to the...
has a total capacity of four million tonnes per annum.
The mine was to have about 150 full-time staff, though in 2007-2008, there were problems filling all positions, partly because of high demand for the same occupations in the Australian and international job markets. In February 2010, Pike River Mine made its first export shipment of 20,000 tonnes of premium hard coking coal to India.
The mine is estimated to have generated about $80 million of economic benefits to the West Coast Region, about $13 million of that in wages.
2010 mine disaster
On 19 November 2010, an explosion in the mine left 29 people dead 2200 metres (7,217.8 ft) from the mine's entrance. The mine is around 160 metres (524.9 ft) below ground, but is primarily accessed horizontally as it lies under the Paparoa Range. Two miners more than 1000 metres (3,280.8 ft) from the mine entrance received moderate injuries after being knocked over by the blast. It was predicted it could be several days before the mine was safe enough for rescue workers to enter, as the gases inside were feared to still be explosive. When a borehole was drilled into the area where the miners were thought to be, a level of 95% methane gas was found with the remainder primarily carbon monoxideCarbon monoxide
Carbon monoxide , also called carbonous oxide, is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas that is slightly lighter than air. It is highly toxic to humans and animals in higher quantities, although it is also produced in normal animal metabolism in low quantities, and is thought to have some normal...
and it appeared there was little chance of finding any of the miners alive. Although families had held out hope that some of the miners may have survived, it was believed by the rescue team that all had been killed by the initial explosion. The mine had not collapsed and air was blowing freely throughout the tunnels indicating that there were no obstructions to survivors leaving the mine or indicating their presence by tapping on pipes or calling for help.
At 2:37 PM NZDT
Time in New Zealand
New Zealand has two time zones. The main islands use New Zealand Standard Time , 12 hours in advance of Coordinated Universal Time , while the outlying Chatham Islands use Chatham Standard Time , 12 hours 45 minutes in advance of UTC.During summer daylight saving time is observed and clocks are...
on 24 November, a second explosion occurred, which was so severe that later that afternoon Peter Whittall (CEO of Pike River Coal Ltd) announced that it was extremely unlikely that any of the miners were still alive, as the magnitude of the second explosion and the high levels of toxic gases were too great for anyone to be able to survive.
A third explosion occurred at 3:39 PM 26 November; it appeared to be smaller than the first two. On Sunday, 28 November at 1:55 PM NZDT
Time in New Zealand
New Zealand has two time zones. The main islands use New Zealand Standard Time , 12 hours in advance of Coordinated Universal Time , while the outlying Chatham Islands use Chatham Standard Time , 12 hours 45 minutes in advance of UTC.During summer daylight saving time is observed and clocks are...
, a fourth explosion occurred. Flames and smoke poured out of the mine causing nearby scrub to catch fire. Whittall stated there was now a coal fire burning in the mine rather than a gas fire. It is unknown at this time if the actual coal seam is on fire or if it is "rubbish" coal that has been dislodged from previous explosions.
A mine expert theorised that a blast furnace level of heat could have occurred within the mine, reaching over 1200 °C (2,192 °F).
A collapse of any part of the mine was however considered unlikely because of the strength of the construction.
On November 10 2011 charges were laid against 3 parties in the Greymouth District Court. The charges relate to alleged Health & Safety failings at the mine. At the time of writing the parties against whom the charges have been laid have been withheld.
Holding company
Pike River Coal Ltd is listed on the New Zealand and AustralianASX
ASX may refer to:* Australian Securities Exchange, the primary stock exchange of Australia* Advanced Stream Redirector, a computer file format listing Windows Media files * Armstrong Siddeley ASX, a British experimental turbojet* John F...
stock exchanges. It raised NZ$85 million in additional capital for expanding the mine in 2007. As of August 2007, over NZ$100 million had already been invested into developing the mine.
The development was valued at NZ$2.3 billion and was initially held by New Zealand Oil & Gas (29% stake plus options and bonds) as well as the two Indian companies, Gujarat NRE Coke Limited (17% share), and Saurashtra Fuels Private Limited (15% share), with the two latter companies intending to buy about half the running production of the mine's coal. After the IPO
Initial public offering
An initial public offering or stock market launch, is the first sale of stock by a private company to the public. It can be used by either small or large companies to raise expansion capital and become publicly traded enterprises...
, the ownership percentages changed to NZ Oil and Gas 31%, Gujarat NRE Coke 10%, Saurashtra Fuels 8.5%, with private minority shareholders holding 7.9% and the remaining 42.5% having been sold to the general public.
Economic aftermath
On 13 December 2010, Pike River Coal Ltd was put into receivership, with three partners in PricewaterhouseCoopers appointed as receivers. On 15 December 2010, it was announced that about 114 of 157 staff in the company would be made redundant immediately, with some severance benefits paid out of the remaining company funds. It was also announced that it would be unlikely that the further numbers of contracting staff also unemployed or unpaid due to the mine accident would receive any money, as they legally ranked low in the order of creditors.Pike River Coal originally stated that they hoped to be able to reopen the mine, hopefully before the completion of the inquiry. There is also some concern about the direct economic consequences of the current mine closure
Mine closure
Mine closure is the period of time when the ore-extracting activities of a mine have ceased, and final decommissioning and mine reclamation are being completed. It is generally associated with reduced employment levels, which can have a significant negative impact on local economies...
, as contracts for work related to the mine have been cancelled or are stalled. The mine remains closed as of the end of 2010, with no indications when or if it would reopen. Most staff have been made redundant, and many contractors are also unemployed or remain unpaid for earlier work.
In early 2011, it was reported that the receiver was considering different ways of treating the remaining assets of the Pike River Mine Ltd company. While it was possible that the mine would be sold, the option of fencing the area and returning it to the Department of Conservation was a 'worst case' possibility. On 9 March 2011, the receivers took over full control of the mine from the NZ Police.
In March 2011, Solid Energy
Solid Energy
Solid Energy is the largest coal mining company in New Zealand and is a state owned enterprise of the New Zealand Government.The company was formed from the former government department State Coal Mines. It was then established as a state owned enterprise called Coal Corporation in 1987, and...
was looking at purchasing the coal rights and access arrangements. The company said that any proposal to buy and reactivate the mine would include recovery of the dead miner's bodies, if feasible. They also noted that they saw the potential need to combine underground with opencast mining
Open-pit mining
Open-pit mining or opencast mining refers to a method of extracting rock or minerals from the earth by their removal from an open pit or borrow....
at the site. With the site sitting on conservation land, this is likely to be controversial. Open-cast mining in a national Park is banned by the Crown Minerals Act. The Pike River mine reaches the Brunner coal seam at depths of 150 to 200 metres below ground level. This is deeper than other NZ open-cast coal mines and likely to be uneconomic.
In August 2011, KiwiRail
KiwiRail
KiwiRail Holdings Limited is the rail operations subsidiary of the New Zealand Railways Corporation, which trades as KiwiRail. Headquartered in Wellington, New Zealand, KiwiRail is the largest rail transport operator in New Zealand. Since July 2010 John Spencer has been the Chairman...
blamed the Canterbury Earthquakes and "loss of Pike River Mine volumes" for its poor end of year result in 20102011.