Disclaimer To date no “official” report has been released concerning this incident and investigations are ongoing. Read the Commission's Report Previous mass mining tragedies include:Since coal mining began in New Zealand, there have been 211 recorded deaths from nine separate explosions, the most recent at the Pike River mine. The Royal Commission on the Pike River Coal Mine Tragedy reported to the Governor-General on 30 October 2012.
In each case, the mine’s management had overlooked or played down the risk of a methane explosion.There is little doubt that the first explosion on 19 November was caused by the ignition of a large volume of methane.
Mines must have good ventilation to prevent methane building up.Pike River is the latest major New Zealand mining disaster. Six drill holes confirmed the presence of a large area of coal. Despite this, the fan operated normally following installation with exception of one minor shut.According to the Royal Commission Report ‘The 2007 underground fan risk assessment had identified ‘built-in explosion proofing’ and protection as a control for placement of the main fan underground, and Pike told insurance risk assessors in 2010 the underground fan would be located in ‘explosion protected panels’, but no protection was in place.’Additionally, in examing aspects of electrical safety the commission concluded that the underground electrical system at Pike River Mine was unconventional in a number of ways:The discovery of the evidence that this crucial piece of evidence existed and that it was not forensically examined by the Royal Commission or the Department of Labour is a telltale sign some things may be amiss. After about 300 m he found Russell Smith on the ground, and together they struggled to the mine entrance, with Rockhouse holding Smith up and grasping a rail for support with his free hand. The company, then under the control of receivers, did not appear at the hearing.
Had there been no explosion, it is likely that Pike River would have shut down by 2013 as there was no longer a market for the coal it was producing.Under the heading, ‘A failure to learn’, the report noted that 'New Zealand’s health and safety record is inferior to that of other comparable countries. The human tragedy cannot be undone, but it is hoped that documenting the events leading up to the disaster will help future generations to avoid making similar mistakes. Hydro-mining had been used effectively elsewhere on the West Coast, but did pose problems. Evidence to the Royal Commission, however, showed that DoC had agreed to every request made by the mining company over several years.Largely based on earlier consultants’ reports, this envisaged an ambitious project involving the construction of an access road across steep, bush-covered hillsides to the mine entrance. The permission of the Department of Conservation was, however, required for access and other activities outside the boundaries of the coalfield.Over a 13-year period, the Pike River Coal Company undertook further exploration and acquired the necessary authorisations to develop a mine, including a mining permit, an access arrangement and resource consents. Building the tunnel took twice as long as anticipated, and cost more than twice the amount budgeted. The company needed to go back to its investors and other lenders for more funds. In 1979, geologist Terry Bates and assistants explored the area. Solid Energy, New Zealand’s main exporter of coking coal, went into voluntary administration in 2013 and is currently being wound up. The full report is available here.
The government-owned State Coal Mines held mining and prospecting leases over all the major coalfields except Pike River. The final, steep section to the mine portal included taking the road around a steep, gorgy part of Pike Stream, across a mixture of jointed hard rock and landslide debris.The company’s assumption that it would be tunnelling through strong rock that would require little support proved to be misguided. In particular, collapse of the coal face could cause large and unpredictable methane pulses in the mine.The coal-cutting machines initially obtained for the mine kept breaking down in the rugged conditions.
A public memorial service for the 29 men killed was held at Omoto racecourse, near Greymouth, on 2 December 2010.
Because of the continuing delays, the board dismissed Gordon Ward, the general manager, in mid-2010 and replaced him with Peter Whittall.By 2010, there was ample evidence of dysfunction at senior management level at the mine. More worryingly, they also sparked small methane explosions when the cutting tool hit hard sandstone.Although coal was being extracted from the Pike River mine from November 2010, it was still in start-up mode and considerably behind schedule. Only then could mine development and coal production begin.
This is why we must go back into Pike River and why there needs to be a full and transparent inquiry” a social media page devoted to families has stated. However, nobody can tell us what happened to it after that.”“If we find this evidence it could determine what caused the explosion that killed 29 men. was photographed on the 28th of November 2010 after it was blown up a 111-metre vent shaft and landed on the ground above the mine.The families have stated that “We have been told that it was put on a helicopter contracted by Pike River Coal and taken to the mine office. From the mid-1980s, there was a growing overseas market for West Coast coking coal — more than 1 million tonnes was exported in 1994, and more than double that in 2002. A permanent memorial, listing the names of the men killed, has been erected near the junction of Atarau Road and the road up to the mine and a In 2013, the Orpheus Choir of Wellington commissioned Dave Dobbyn to write a piece dedicated to the men who died in the disaster. The other 29 men in the mine were either killed by the force of the explosion or suffocated by noxious gases.CCTV footage showed a pressure wave and flying debris blasted out of the mine entrance. Could forensic examination of the control panel identify if there was an ignition inside the panel?While the Royal Commission included the main vent fan as a potential source of ignition, the commission findings for the ignition source of the explosion stated that it “remains contentious.”This switchboard door was clearly a ‘non-approved’ and non-flameproof board that probably shouldn’t have been in a coal mine zone classified as hazardous in the first place.By forensically examining this piece of crucial evidence, the NZ Police, the former Department of Labour and, more importantly, the Royal Commission could have ruled in or out a potential source of ignition…but they didn’t.Over the last twenty years maintaining and improving mine safety has become a non-negotiable characteristic of responsible and ethical mining companies throughout Australia and the broader Asia Pacific region.