Progress in mine re-entry
The next phase of the Pike River mine re-entry project is under way after WorkSafe approved plans to move past the 170-metre seal.
Minister Responsible for Pike River Re-entry Andrew Little said fresh air would be pumped into the West Coast mine drift (or access tunnel) this week.
‘‘This allows the project to really get under way at a pace, doing the forensic work and slowly recovering the rest of that drift.’’
It’s the latest step in a long project to re-enter the mine where 29 men died in a series of explosions in November 2010.
Sonya Rockhouse, whose son Ben died in the disaster, said the process had taken a lot longer than the families had wanted.
‘‘We have always known the recovery process could be done safely and now we have confirmation of that from WorkSafe . . . Many people have felt it was never going to happen, but it has been thorough and very carefully done,’’ she said in a statement.
‘‘We’re looking forward to the agency breaching the 170m seal, recovering the drift and the evidence within it. It’s incredibly exciting to finally have this push for truth and justice under way.’’
Little said the Pike River Recovery Agency (PRRA) had planned a safe, manned re-entry and recovery of the drift past the 170m barrier, with input from experts.
‘‘The next step is advancing safely up the remainder of the 2.3-kilometre drift and carrying out forensic examinations along the way.
‘‘We need to find out as much as possible about what caused 29 men to go to work and not come home. The safe recovery of the mine drift, and its forensic examination, is part of an overdue act of justice.’’
WorkSafe said regulation 170 (4) (a) of the Mining Operations and Quarrying Regulations 2016 stated there must always be a way for workers to escape from a mine in an intake airway.
PRRA sought an exemption to use a process called ‘forced ventilation’ in which fresh air is forced by a fan to the working space through a duct and then the air flows back through the roadway to the entrance of the mine.
The exemption, which will take effect from today, applies only to recovery of the 2.3km drift.
Richard Johnston, a DOC pest protection and conservation dog handler, was smiling when he was greeted by Flint at Wellington Airport yesterday.
A dog that spent two nights alone on a sub-Antarctic island has been reunited with his handler.
Flint, a jack russell/fox terrier cross, was calm and collected as he made his way to Wellington Airport, lazing around on the floor yesterday afternoon as he waited for Richard Johnston to arrive from Auckland.
Flint, a rodent-detection dog, spent last week working at
Campbell Island, but as workers made their way back to the ship, they were charged by a sea lion.
A startled Flint bolted and, due to oncoming bad weather, the group decided to leave the island at 11pm on Wednesday. After a large search with helicopters, the dog was found on Friday.
Johnston, a Department of Conservation pest protection and conservation dog handler, was smiling when he was greeted by Flint and his partner, Elizabeth
MacDonald, yesterday.
Johnston said he was gutted when he could not find Flint and had to leave. ‘‘That was heartbreaking for me.’’
Flint was wearing a muzzle when he went missing which meant he could drink but would not be able to eat.
Although fearful, Johnston was hopeful he would see Flint again. And when word came in on the ship that the dog had been found, everyone cheered.