Revelations that the Pike River mine has been safe to
enter for at least a year are ‘‘gutting’’ to the families of the 29 men
who died, Grey district mayor Tony Kokshoorn says.
Documents
released under the Official Information Act today suggested it had been
safe to enter the drift of the West Coast coal mine for at least 12
months.
In a letter to Solid Energy chief executive Dan Clifford,
WorkSafe New Zealand wrote that it had identified ‘‘no operational
barriers to re-entering the drift’’.
The letter, dated August 13, 2014, said a re-entry plan made in October 2013 was ‘‘safe and technically feasible’’.
Kokshoorn
said Solid Energy only recently told the families of the men who died
in the November 19, 2010, disaster that health and safety was the main
concern stopping them from re-entering the mine.
‘‘I would hope that they are not making these decisions on just strictly financial grounds and access to their assets.’’
Kokshoorn
said he ‘‘cut a deal’’ with Prime Minister John Key three years ago to
ensure $10 million was available for re-entering the mine and most of
the money was still available.
‘‘The only technical problem was
going to be the safety aspect, now that’s been cleared. There’s no
impediments left – they need to get down that drift and see if there’s
any bodies to give closure to those families.
‘‘They’ve got no excuses.’’
A
WorkSafe spokesman said the agency would not be commenting on the
documents released today, as it was Solid Energy’s decision alone
whether or not to reenter the mine.
Solid Energy spokesman Bryn
Somerville said additional assessments carried out after the letter was
sent had raised some concerns about re-entering the drift.
‘‘We
do understand this is having a cost on the families, but our board is
working as quickly as it can to get to a decision, but they’re not there
yet.’’
Recovering
the bodies of 29 men entombed in the Pike River coalmine is now the sole focus
for the victims' families.
Family
members yesterday filled the Greymouth District Court public gallery for the
final day of the royal commission's public hearing on the November 2010
explosion.
Outside
the hearing, the spokesman for most of the families, Bernie Monk, said they
planned to push for progress on body recovery efforts.
Plans to
reclaim the mine's 2.4-kilometre tunnel are on hold pending further risk
assessments, and body recovery is predicted to take three years or more.
At a
meeting after yesterday's hearing, several family members said they were
"gutted" their men were still in the mine more than 16 months after
the explosion.
Scottish
miner Peter Rodger's partner, Dianne Morris, said she was embarrassed to tell
their Scottish friends and family about the lack of support for getting into
the mine.
"I'm
embarrassed that Pete was put in that situation. He's still waiting for someone
to go in and get him," she said.
Anna
Osborne, widow of Grey District councillor Milton Osborne, agreed. "We're
going to keep fighting to bring our men home."
The
lawyer for some of Pike River Coal's directors and managers, Stacey Shortall,
told the inquiry her clients had been unfairly blamed for the tragedy.
She
represents three board members and three managers, including former chief
executive Peter Whittall, statutory mine manager Steve Ellis and former
chairman John Dow.
Whittall
is one of three parties facing Labour Department charges for alleged health and
safety failings.
No
conclusive evidence showed anything her clients did or did not do had caused
the explosions, she said.
However,
they admitted shortcomings in the company's systems, which they were dismayed
to find during the inquiry. "The truth is that they cannot fairly be
scapegoated before you on the evidence as it stands."
Shortall
listed many mining experts and consultants involved in the mine's development
and operation who her clients relied on for advice.
The
Labour Department, the Conservation Department and the Ministry of Economic
Development all had oversight of the mine's development and operation, yet
allowed it to continue, she said.
While her
clients had freely helped the commission, giving evidence and not hiding from
public gaze, other company directors and managers had dodged blame by sitting
"quietly in the shadows" and "cowering overseas or in other
locations".
She
singled out former chief executive Gordon Ward for refusing to return from
overseas to give evidence at the inquiry, despite being asked to do so by the
royal commission.
Mines
Rescue Service lawyer Garth Gallaway rejected claims on Tuesday that there had
been a window of opportunity in rescuing the 29 men.
Commission
chairman Justice Graham Panckhurst said the end of the public hearings was a
"significant milestone", particularly for the families.
The three
commissioners are due to report on their findings in September.
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.
"We
wanted you to have these [photos], we have applied to have them released and we
are still waiting to hear back. These are options we could take in the
future.''
Monk,
whose son Michael, 23, died in the mine, said some families were pushing for
the public release of the photos while others wanted to launch their own mine
recovery.
"The
families are coming to me wanting to go up to the mine themselves now,'' he
said. "We have really got to hold them back.''
The
parents of one of the dead miners had recently sold their profitable family
business to help bankroll a possible re-entry.
"Their
sole life is going to be now on recovery,'' Monk said. "They are going to
be fulltime helping me and others on recovery. They want their son home.''
Fifteen
months on from the initial explosion, Monk said the loved ones of the dead men
remained unable to "get on with [their] lives.''
All were
holding out hope that a much-debated recovery mission would be launched.
The
latest initiative to try to speed up the slow progress was a threepage letter
sent to Prime Minister John Key, via National's West Coastbased list MP Chris
Auchinvole.
Monk was
not prepared to release the strongly-worded letter until Key had been given
time to respond.
"I
know John Key has had a hell of a lot on his plate. But if his son was down
there, would he be sitting back?
"We
have put up with the sadness and then all the carry-on that has come out of the
commission. People are angry, the families are angry.
"[Now]
the frustration of no-one coming to us with a proper recovery plan for our men
is even more frustrating. We are really going to push now.''
A
spokeswoman for Key said he would respond "in due course''.
In
December, Key told the Star-Times the government was committed to doing all it
could to recover the remains of the men and experts were working on a plan.
"The progress is slow and is frustrating
for everyone, including the government. We want to see them get in there as
fast as they can.'' ---###---
"Unsurvivability"
should have been considered earlier following the explosions at Pike River
Mine, Mines Rescue Service lawyer Garth Gallaway has told the royal commission
into the tragedy.
Thirteen
lawyers were due to speak to submissions on behalf of 16 parties over the final
two and a half days of public hearings for the commission at Greymouth District
Court.
The
submissions will focus on conclusions about everything previously raised at the
10-week inquiry as well as on phase four, which deals with New Zealand's mining
policy.
Gallaway
began speaking this morning to Mines Rescue's 97-page written submission for
the hearing.
He said
"unsurvivability" should have been considered sooner and decisions
made as a result of that, such as sealing the mine, rather than relying on Pike
River Coal's chief executive Peter Whittall's views the 29 men could have
survived until the second blast five days later.
The
service believed there were "comprehensive factors" indicating the
men had been unlikely to survive the first November 19, 2010 blast.
That
included that, because it was a large explosion in a small mine, the workforce
was trained to self-escape rather than barricade themselves in, all men had
self-rescuers on their belts which lasted for 30 minutes, there was no
communication from within the mine after survivor Daniel Rockhouse's phone call
and no communication was made from a radio lowered into the mine that evening.
High
readings of toxic gases also meant survival was unlikely, Gallaway said.
Mines
rescue felt unable to push the issue of survivability because of the
"three-tier" incident management structure.
He said
it believed the system failed and was surprised police advocated keeping the
three-tier system because of delays in critical information being passed from
the forward command at the site, such as about video footage of the explosion.
SUPER
DEPARTMENT'S ROLE QUESTIONED
Questions
have been raised at the Pike River inquiry today over how mining safety will be
prioritised under a new super department that will include the Labour
Department.
Two weeks
ago, Prime Minister John Key announced the establishment of the Ministry of
Business, Innovation and Employment, which would also absorb functions of the
Ministry of Economic Development, Ministry of Science and Innovation, and the
Department of Building and Housing.
Today,
Labour Department lawyer Kristy MacDonald told the hearing in Greymouth
District Court that it would keep the royal commission up to date with any
impacts from the merger.
Commissioner
David Henry asked whether ''hardly any weight'' could be placed on an internal
department review of the department's interactions with Pike River by two
Australian experts.
MacDonald
admitted it had flaws but would need more time to comment to the royal
commission in writing about the issue.
The
department proposed wide-ranging changes to tighten mining regulations to
improve safety, she said.
The
inquiry heard that the Pike River tragedy was a ''wake-up call'' for the mining
industry.
VICTIMS
REMEMBERED
Earlier,
an emotional tribute to the 29 men who died in the tragedy started the inquiry.
Police
lawyer Simon Moore said the inquiry owed it "to the sacred memory of the
men" to ensure such an incident was never repeated.
He noted
the men's families were "an enduring tribute to the 29" and had sat
in a dignified and solemn manner in the court's public gallery since the
inquiry began last July.
The 29
men had headed to work that fateful day with the legitimate expectation they
would return home, he said.
"But
for the courage and tenacity of Daniel Rockhouse, that number could have been
31."
Rockhouse
dragged colleague Russell Smith about 1500m to safety after the 3.45pm blast on
November 19, 2010.
Moore
discussed the police's role as lead agency handling the fatal explosion at the
West Coast underground colamine, calling it a "very large and complex
incident".
All three
commissioners questioned him about New Zealand's co-ordinated incident
management system (CIMS), which was used for the incident.
They
focused on why the CIMS model had a three-tier system with decision-making at
the mine site as well as in Greymouth and Wellington, highlighting the risk
that would slow decision-making, which had been criticised in earlier hearings.
Moore
confirmed the key decision of re-entry into a mine post-explosion would be made
by the three groups rather than the incident controller, who was police
superintendent Gary Knowles, but would not delay decisions.
He said
police believed it should be the incident controller in a major fatality
incident, such as at Pike River, and disagreed with Mines Rescue Trust, which
wanted a mining expert in that role.
---###---
DEIDRE MUSSEN Last updated 11:14 06/12/2011
An experienced
English coalminer stopped working at Pike River because he feared the mine was
going to explode.
"I just didn't feel safe," contractor McConnell
Dowell's former leading hand, Albert Houlden, today told the Royal Commission
into last November's fatal blast that killed 29 men.
He said he was concerned with Pike's inexperienced staff and
highlighted various incidents with ventilation problems.
"Many times I'd come out and I'd have a splitting
headache and feel real sick because of the CO (carbon monoxide) from the
machines, because again there had been a problem with the ventilation."
Houlden began mining in the United Kingdom as a 16-year-old
and had 37 years mining experience with about 20 years coalmining experience
around the world.
He was brought to New Zealand by Solid Energy in 2007 and
worked at Spring Creek for two and a half years before moving to Pike in
October 2009 to work for McConnell Dowell.
He resigned and shifted to Papau New Guinea after about nine
months at the underground West Coast mine.
"There was one day when I came home and said to my wife
'I'm taking that job I've been offered for because that mine (Pike) is going to
go'."
Houlden returned to New Zealand just before Pike exploded
and could have returned to work there but decided to work for Solid Energy
after his wife warned him not to go back to Pike.
The ratio of inexperienced to experienced miners was much
higher in the United Kingdom than at Pike, he said.
"Many of the miners were classed as experienced when
they had only been mining for a very short time.
"My biggest concern when I was there was the young men
who honestly thought they were miners but didn't appreciate where they were
working. With the amount of gas at Pike, you had to be more than careful and
manage it in a proper and safe manner. They didn't think it was a big issue
shutting our ventilation down so they got more somewhere else. You can't do
that and they needed to be made aware what the implications were when they did
do these kinds of things."
He said training given to contractors at Pike was
insufficient for inexperienced staff.
"Contractors who had little or no experience of working
underground were working in the mine with very little induction training and
were hardly supervised."
However, he had no concerns about McConnell Dowell staff's
experience and agreed he enjoyed working for the contractor but "hated
working for Pike".
He said he could not understand why Pike did not have a
ventilation officer.
Houlden has finished his evidence this morning at Greymouth
District Court and Pike River Coal former chairman John Dow has taken the
stand.
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.
Published: 8:43PM Monday November 21, 2011 Source: ONE News
Evidence Pike River mine workers felt pressured to meet
targets was heard at the Royal Commission in Greymouth on 21 November 2011.
The hearing has already been told the company was short of
money, and production was behind schedule.
When the first shipment of Pike River coal left for India
early last year the company was under pressure.
In February 2010 former chief executive Gordon Ward said the
company had had "some challenges" and there was no question that
"we need now to meet our production targets".
A month after Ward made the comments, mining consultant David
Stewart was called in to do an audit because morale was low and they weren't
producing enough coal.
He found workers under pressure.
"Everybody was aware of the cost of the operation to
date...the missed targets for development and production...and the financial
crunch relating to the company as a whole," Stewart said.
In a series of audits six months before the explosion,
Stewart raised concerns about the ventilation system and methane management.
He said although there's a level of mistrust between workers
and management in all mines, it was worse at Pike.
Stewart said staff turnover was high, with many overseas and
inexperienced workers, but individually he felt they were doing the best that
they could.
But Pike's lawyer argued the problems highlighted could well
have been fixed by the time of the explosion.
Stewart agreed with Stacey Shortall that he had no direct
knowledge about whether any of the matters he had observed during his audits
remained issues at the time of the explosion.
The pressure on workers came as no surprise to families.
There was pressure, pressure, pressure from all
directions," family spokesperson Bernie Monk said.
The families say there has been little that has
been positive to come out of all the evidence so far.
DEIDRE MUSSEN Last updated 18:48 11/11/2011 (The Press)
Peter Whittall believes he is being scapegoated as the sole
individual facing prosecution over the deaths of 29 men at the West Coast coal
mine almost a year ago.
Name suppression was lifted today to reveal the Department
of Labour had yesterday laid 25 charges alleging health and safety failures by
Whittall, Pike River Coal and Valley Longwall International's in-seam drilling
subsidiary VLI Drilling.
The charges were alleged breaches of the Health and Safety
in Employment Act 1992 and each carried a maximum penalty of $250,000.
Last November 19, the first of a series of explosions ripped
through the underground coal mine deep in the Paparoa Ranges, killing 29 miners
and contractors.
Whittall's lawyer, Stacey Shortall, said today Whittall was
surprised to be the prosecuted and planned to rigorously defend his 12 charges,
which were linked to failures of methane explosion management, strata
management, ventilation management and mitigating the risk and impact of an
explosion.
He adamantly maintained he never put anyone's safety at risk
and would fight being scapegoated, she said.
''Mr Whittall is a coal miner. He comes from a coal mining
town and has worked in underground mines all his life. He maintains that he
would never do anything to put men who worked with him at risk.
''He's obviously deeply saddened by this,'' she said.
He actively sought to have name suppression orders lifted to
end speculation and was the sole individual facing allegations, Shortall said.
''Mr Whittall didn't want to be seen to be hiding over
this."
Whittall became the public face of the tragedy, fronting
media, families and the nation in the harrowing days after the first explosion.
''Mr Whittall took on this role because he believed it was
the right thing to do and he continued to front for Pike even though it greatly
raised his profile at a time when criminal investigations were underway,''
Shortall said.
He planned to draw on the department's extensive interaction
and contact with Pike, particularly by its mines inspectors, in his defence to
the charges.
Next week, the Royal Commission into the tragedy resumes and
the department's two mines inspectors would be the first of nine witnesses to
give evidence over the two-week hearing.
Since the inquiry began in July, the department had faced
strong criticism over its monitoring of the mine.
Pike River Coal was charged with 10 offences
relating to methane explosion management, strata management, ventilation
management, mitigating the risk and impact of an explosion, and health and
safety management for contractors, subcontractors and their employees.
Pike River Coal's receivers, PricewaterhouseCoopers, said
today it asked for existing suppression orders to be lifted, which had been
previously sought by the Department of Labour.
''The matter is now sub judice and the receivers will not be
making any further comment at this time,'' it said in a written statement.
VLI Drilling faced three charges relating to maintenance and
operation of machinery.
Valley Longwall International (VLI) said in a written
statement the Labour Department was yet to disclose the basis for its
allegations to VLI.
After that, VLI would consider its response to the charges.
''As the matter is before the Court, VLI does not intend to
make any further public comment. As we approach the first anniversary of the
accident, the company extends again its sympathies to all the families impacted
by this tragedy.''
DEIDRE MUSSEN Last updated 05:00 11/11/2011 (The Press)
All Carol Rose wants to know is what happened at Pike River.
Her son, Stuart Mudge, 31, died in the mine last November.
She said court action over the 29 deaths was a positive step in reassuring
families that processes were working to ensure such a disaster never occurred
again.
The Labour Department announced yesterday it was prosecuting
three unnamed parties over alleged multiple health and safety failures at Pike
River.
"It's hollow really," the Greymouth woman said
yesterday. "All we want is the answers. We want to know the truth of what
happened on 19th November 2010.
"Twenty-nine families lost someone. We want to know something
changes, standards are raised and this can never happen again. I don't think
anyone wants blood."
The department has refused to name the parties, saying they
had either existing name suppression or the right to apply for it.
But it acknowledged there was high public interest and it
was taking "urgent steps" to ensure the names could be published.
It declined to detail the 25 charges, which were laid
yesterday morning in the Greymouth District Court. Each carried a maximum
penalty of $250,000.
"Identifying the specific charges could also lead to
identification of the three parties."
The department said its investigation into last November's
mine explosion was the most complex it had undertaken. It had had until
November 19 to decide whether to lay charges, but this followed an extension
granted in April, and the suppression orders were put in place at that time.
Police are investigating whether to lay criminal charges,
but are yet to make a decision and have no time constraints.
The miners' families were treating the Labour Department
move with caution, their lawyer, Nicholas Davidson, QC, said yesterday.
"I don't think there will be any sense of
satisfaction."
The department told him the decision before releasing it
publicly so the families heard the news first. They wanted to know what the
charges were because this would show where alleged breaches of law occurred,
which mattered more than who was charged, Mr Davidson said.
"It moves them into new territory because it goes beyond
the neutrality of the royal commission, which doesn't apportion blame, to
allege people are at fault.
"It tells them at least the prosecuting authority
thinks the law has been broken."
Mr Davidson said some witnesses were reluctant to give evidence
to the royal commission for fear of incriminating themselves before November
19, when the department's time limit for prosecution expired.
Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union
assistant national secretary Ged O'Connell raised concerns yesterday that the
charges could delay the royal commission's findings because the defendants
would have the right to remain silent if questioned.
"This sort of situation will push it out ... Any delay
worries us because the Government has made it clear it is waiting for the royal
commission's findings to decide on any changes.
"We want to understand what the commission finds and
what changes need to be made because we think changes need to be made sooner
rather than later. We've still got 300 to 400 people working underground."
The Labour Department's oversight of Pike River mine will be
under scrutiny when the royal commission resumes at the Greymouth District
Court on Monday.
The department faced criticism during the inquiry's first
phase in July for having only two mining inspectors for New Zealand, which was
far fewer than under the previous mines inspectorate.
A Japanese mining expert with 40 years experience quit the
Pike River mine after only three months because he feared it was going to explode.
The royal commission into the deaths of 29 men in a series
of explosions at the mine nearly a year ago will next week hear evidence from
Masaoki Nishioka.
Radio New Zealand reported this morning that it had seen
Nishioka's written evidence.
He had 40 years mining experience but said he left Pike
River after only three months because he became too frightened to go
underground.
He would detail serious design faults with the water system,
the coal faces being mined and the system for draining away explosive methane
gas, RNZ reported.
Nishioka left a month
before the mine began exploding.
12 September 2011 - Pike River Coal insurers agree to cough up NZ$80 million to settle damage and business interruption insurance claims.
An insurance settlement will see the Bank of New Zealand (BNZ) recoup
the NZ$23.2 million it loaned to Pike River Coal prior to last
November's tragic explosions at the West Coast mine that killed 29
people.
In a statement to the NZX today New Zealand Oil & Gas (NZOG), Pike
River Coal's biggest shareholder, says a conditional agreement has been
reached between the mining company's insurers and receiver
PricewaterhouseCoopers in regards to damage and business interruption
insurance. This should enable a NZ$80 million full and final settlement
of claims.
NZOG said the BNZ, as a first ranking secured creditor owed
approximately NZ$23.2 million, will be paid in full. About NZ$6.3
million will be paid to the owners of leased mining equipment arising
from their priority rights, leaving NZOG, as the other first ranking
secured creditor, with legal priority to the remaining NZ$73.7 million.
NZOG chief executive David Salisbury said the firm would support the
receivers using some of the insurance payout to make a voluntary early
payment to all unsecured creditors.
Pike River Coal's last annual report shows it had drawn down its full NZ$12.9 million of available credit from a five-year BNZ
term debt facility due to mature in 2013. The facility was secured via a
first ranking charge of NZ$16.5 million over mobile mining equipment.
As of June 30 last year, Pike River Coal was also fully drawn on a NZ$10 million multi option debt facility with the BNZ. This facility was used by the company for some of its short term working capital requirements.
UPDATED JUNE 2011 - The receivers of Pike River Coal Ltd say they only have
enough money to take recovery teams as far as the rockfall inside the
mine - not far enough to recover bodies.
Mines Rescue Service teams have begun work to open the mine where 29
men died in a series of explosions from 19 November last year. The mine
was put in receivership in December.
Receiver John Fisk, of PricewaterhouseCoopers, says they have set aside $1 million for the operation which started on Tuesday.
Mr Fisk says that should be enough for teams to travel 2km to the
caved-in section of the mine. But after that, he can only try to
negotiate for a buyer to recover the bodies.
He expects it will take the recovery teams until October or November to reach the rockfall.
The families on Thursday warned receivers the money must be found to complete the recovery attempt.
Spokesperson Bernie Monk told Morning Report the families are aware of the financial situation - which is why they have good legal representation.
Mr Monk says between possible action from the families and the union
involved, the value of the mine must be plummeting, so it is in the
receivers' best interests to resolve the situation.
"If the unions do what they do and if we do what we do, they've got nothing to sell. The value of the mine must be plummeting.
"This problem is never going to go away, so it's in the best
interests to sit down with parties concerned - whether it's the
Government or whatever and nut this out."
A lawyer for the men's families says the Government may have to intervene to force the mine's buyer to recover the bodies.
The Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union says the receivers'
position is not good enough and risks the mine being internationally
blacklisted - meaning no one would work there.
----###----
New Zealand Oil and Gas, the major stakeholder in Pike River, has confirmed that after the first explosion on 19 of
November, it advanced $12 million to Pike River Coal one week after the blast (26 November) so that it could
concentrate on the rescue mission without worrying about its existing financial problems.
New Zealand Oil and Gas said it wasn't obliged to contribute, but
without it advancing the money, there would have been nothing with which
to pay the Pike River employees.
The Royal Commission heard a recording of a 111 call made by Daniel Duggan, the control room officer at the mine at the time.
In the recording, Mr Duggan can be heard saying he suspects a major incident, possibly an explosion.
He said the mine might need as much emergency care as possible - ambulances and possibly a helicpoter.
Mr Duggan said there were up to 30 people underground, an hour had gone by and no one was accounted for at that stage.
The Commission of Inquiry heard more evidence that there was no
dependable way out of the mine if the main shaft was blocked by an
accident.
Former safety training coordinator Adrian Couchman said he tested a
ventilation shaft to see whether it could be used as an alternative exit
in the event of a disaster, and found that it could not.
The evidence is similar to that given last week by former safety
manager Neville Rockhouse, who told the inquiry that he did not see a
100-metre ladder up an air shaft as a satisfactory exit.
Mr Couchman also said on Monday that safety audits which were
supposed to be done once a fortnight were in fact done once a month.
He said there were cases of telephones that did not work and fire
hoses left unrolled and tangled on the mine floor, in contravention of
the rules.
23 September 2011 - One of the great Pike River rumours — that one of the 29 men trapped
underground, made a phone call after the first explosion — refuses to go
away. In their evidence to the Royal Commission of Inquiry this week,
police said the call had been traced and was made from one relative’s
phone to another. But Gordon Dixon, who lost his brother Allan in the
disaster, said in his witness statement that he believed Allan made the
call from a contractor’s phone to his partner Robyn, about 6pm the night
of the blast. “It was definitely his voice and we stand by the fact to
this day, whatever the police may say.” He said the police were
judgmental about the call, and made the family feel as though it was
“imagined”.
23 September 2011 - The airflow rag at the portal to the Pike River Mine acted oddly in the
minutes before the deadly November 19 explosion, the Royal Commission of
Inquiry heard in Greymouth today. The commission viewed footage of the
first blast, filmed at the portal. Mines Rescue manager Trevor Watts
said that in the minutes leading up to that, the rag at the portal was
in a different position than normal. “It did seem to be fluctuating
slightly ... it appeared to be pulsing.” When the explosion hit it was
blown outwards. Mr Watts said it was the sort of footage an explosives
expert needed to view. The families all stood as Mr Watts left the dock,
and thanked him.
The Union which represents underground miners is describing
the details of the operation at Pike River as a "shambles" and is
calling on the Government to adopt tougher regulations as soon as possible.
The second phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into
explosions which killed 29 men in the mine last November is continuing today.
So far this week failings in the safety procedures of the
mine have been highlighted by former employees, including Daniel Rockhouse, one
of two survivors of the blast.
He told the Commission fresh air bases where he should have
been able to seek sanctuary were ill-equipped, with no first aid kit, extra
self-rescuers or air valves. And a telephone distress call he made to an
emergency number went to answer phone.
"It's just an absolute and utter breakdown in any
health and safety system that was purported to be there," EPMU Assistant
National Secretary Ged O'Connell told TV ONE's Breakfast.
"No evacuation drills, the (fresh air) chamber had been
decommissioned, it's just an unfolding shambles."
O'Connell echoed the concerns of the other survivor of the
explosion, Russell Smith, who told Close Up that if the mine inspectorate had
not been deregulated in 1993, New Zealand would not be seeing the present
problems in the mining industry.
"There's been a knowledge in the industry for a period
of time that the current system is not adequate, but unfortunately that's
politics," he said.
"What we have here is a corporate situation where we
saw yesterday from Doug White - the manager - who had budgeted for a tube
bundling gas monitoring system which is about health and safety, put it in the
budget, but his bosses obviously took it out.
"When you have a corporate coal miner like Pike River
when the pressure comes on for finance these things go by the wayside and it
seems exactly what's happened in this situation."
He said the Government needs to work quickly to adopt new
regulations to protect the "three or four hundred" people working in
underground mines in New Zealand every day.
"We need to put in place regulations not dissimilar to
what we see on the east coast of Australia... there's a whole load of good
examples we can adopt and adopt very quickly.
"It's just political willingness, it could be done in
two or three months, the information is there."
The Inquest resumed at 10am this morning with former mine
manager Doug White giving his evidence.
Yesterday, White broke down in tears during the hearing. It
was his call to stop rescuers going in on the first night, a decision made
because they could not check gas levels.
Pike River Coal chief executive Peter Whittall has accused
police and other officials of withholding information about a fire burning
inside his company's explosion-hit West Coast coal mine.
Not knowing about the fire contributed to his optimistic
statements to families on the chances there were survivors inside the mine, he
claimed.
Mr Whittall is giving evidence to the Royal Commission of
Inquiry into the loss of 29 of his workers in the Pike River mine disaster.
Under questioning from counsel for the Pike River families
Nicholas Davidson, he conceded there was only ever a faint hope the trapped men
were alive.
To survive, the men would have had to have walked to the
upper reaches of the explosion-hit mine before constructing a brattice shield
and sucking air from a compressed airline, he said.
Mr Davidson said that "just doesn't add up" and
was an extremely faint possibility.
Though Mr Whittall agreed it was a slim hope, he denied
deliberately giving false hope to families.
"Human beings are marvelous creatures aren't we and
this does happen on occasion, albeit slim hope."
Mr Whittall said his statements were partly shaped by the
"embarrassing and downright extraordinary" fact he did not hear about
a fire inside the Pike River mine until the inquiry.
He said police had access to reports from former mine
inspector Robin Hughes which said there was a fire in the mine, but did not
pass that information to him.
Not having those reports helped shape his optimistic
messages to families about the possibility groups of miners were clustered
around a fresh air line.
"When I stood up there and said this is the truth, it
was certainly the truth as I knew it," he said.
Mr Whittall said at one point, Prime Minister John Key
advised him to stop talking about "heating" inside the mine and start
talking about fire.
He was surprised at that, as he had no information about
fire in the mine.
His role communicating with families meant he should have
been as well briefed as police superintendent and incident controller Gary
Knowles, he said.
"It's starkly apparent that I was not so briefed.
"As I said before quite embarassing and downright extraordinary
that it never got to me. I have no idea why that was not raised... It was
extraordinary that I should learn about it at this commission and at no time
before that."
The former general manager at Pike River Coal believes the
bodies of the 29 men who died in the mine could have been recovered.
At a meeting between police and the Pike victim's families
following the explosion, police had downplayed the chance of a successful body
recovery, Doug White told the inquiry today.
He had been told not to attend the meeting, but in his
opinion a successful body recovery could have taken place, he said.
White also told the inquiry he did not want to comment on
whether false hope was raised following the first explosion, because he was not
involved in the communication process with the Pike River families.
Regarding accusations that information was withheld from the
families, White said this had not been intended.
Meanwhile, a tube bundling system which White had been
trying to get Pike River to purchase for the mine would have made a difference
to the information available to the rescue operation about the state of the
mine after the explosion, he said.
Tube bundling systems monitor gas levels in underground
mines.
MINE ENTRY PLANNED BEFORE BLAST
Mines Rescue were preparing to enter the Pike River Mine
before it exploded for the second time, former Pike River Coal general manager
Doug White says.
White told the inquiry today that he was told at 1pm on November
24 that Mines Rescue were preparing to enter the mine.
The mine was believed to be safe to be enter, he said.
But soon after White received a phone from chief executive
Peter Whittall advising him the mine had just exploded for the second time.
On November 25, a scan image of the mine revealed a
self-rescuer box in the mine had been opened, meaning some of the men might
have been alive after the first explosion, White said.
Because he and other staff working on the operation had
decided that day that no men could still be alive, the image left him with a
"sinking feeling".
White said he asked those who saw the image not to disclose
what they had seen, until further examination could be made.
A second scan image taken in February revealed a human shape
lying in the prone position, he said.
Earlier, White said he had warned that the mine would
explode again, if oxygen into the mine was not reduced.
He believed the GAG jet engine, which was on standby in
Queensland and could be used to inertise the mine's environment, should have
been brought in immediately.However he said police and the Department of Labour, who
were based in Wellington, rejected this plan.
The machine was not brought in immediately because there
were fears it would send a message that the men would not be rescued, he said.
SEALING 'NOT AN OPTION
The Department of Labour told Pike River Coal that sealing
the mine following the first mine explosion last year "was not an
option".
Former Pike River general manager Doug White told the
inquiry today that he and NZ Mines Rescue discussed temporarily sealing the
mine following the first explosion, to try restrict air flow into the mine.
However, the option was never properly assessed because the
Department of Labour made it clear that any type of mine sealing was "not
up for discussion".
The Department of Labour would not allow the mine to be
sealed because it would potentially send the message that Pike River Coal was
focused on recovery, when the men could still be alive and a rescue could not
be ruled out, he said.
Breaking down, White said he knew most all the 29 victims,
and had difficulty reading his statement due to his emotions.
MINE ENTRY DEBATE
Mines Rescue Service members "debated" entering
the Pike River coal mine following the deadly explosion, White said.
White told the inquiry today after the explosion he told
Mines Rescue members that no-one was to go underground, after they arrived at
the mine site on November 19.
"I was not prepared to risk another life."
White said Mines Rescue members never said they disagreed
with his decision not to allow them in, however the issue was later debated
with individual members, who were "frustrated" they could not go into
the mine.
Originally there was not enough information available about
the conditions underground, but gas samples later taken from the mine's vent
indicated a fire was burning underground or that coal was burning, he said.
White said the Mines Rescue Service did not make a formal
request to enter the mine until November 24.
Following the explosion, it was difficult to identify who
was underground because some men had not taken their identification tag from a
board outside the mine, White said.
Other men who were underground had also not placed their
identification tag on the same board, he said.
"The problems encountered in trying to identify those
underground contributed significantly to the delay in notifying the emergency
contacts that we had for those employees."
SAFETY BELOW STANDARD
Health and safety regulations in New Zealand's mines are not
as strict as Queensland's mine safety standards, the former general manager of
Pike River Coal says.
Ex-Pike River general manager Doug White has taken the
witness stand on the second day of the Pike River inquiry.
White had worked in various Queensland mines since 1991, and
was first employed by Pike River Coal in January 2010.
On November 19 last year, White told the inquiry, he was in
the Pike River Coal administration building at about 3.40pm, when the room's lights
flickered.
This was not a usual occurrence, he said.
However, White was contacted five minutes later by Dan
Duggan, who was working in the mine's control room, who told him communications
in the mine were gone.
He left the building and noticed an unusual smell, like
excessive diesel exhaust fumes.
He drove to the mine's entrance: "I was unaware at this
time that there had been an explosion".
After confirming the mine's communication system was
working, he returned to the control room.
He soon received a phone call from electrician Johannes
Strydom from outside the mine, who told him of seeing Russell Smith lying in
the mine and the mine's unusual smell.
"I reached the conclusion that we had some kind of
major event underground. I instructed Dan Duggan to contact the emergency
services and a helicopter was ordered from Greymouth."
White said when he started at Pike River staff training was
difficult, and there was little time for scheduled maintenance.
White told the inquiry mining regulations were more detailed
in Queensland compared to New Zealand, and higher standards were required in
terms of health and safety.
White is now employed in a coalmine in
New South Wales, Australia.
By Rebecca MacfieRebecca Macfie | Published on July 22, 2011
Pike’s gas management system was inadequate, and key
infrastructure to manage the underground atmosphere had not been installed by
the time of the explosion.
Serious concerns about methane management at the Pike River
coal mine were raised by a gas drainage expert in the months before the
explosion that killed 29 men.
Miles Brown, Pike River Coal’s gas drainage consultant,
expressed “great concern” about the company’s outburst management in a
September 2010 report. Outbursts are a well-recognised underground coal mining
hazard, in which gas and coal dust explode violently from the coal seam.
Under cross examination, Pike boss Peter Whittall denied
ever having seen Brown’s September report, nor two previous reports which said
the pipes and riser that took methane away from the coal seam up to the surface
were inadequate for the amount of gas. Brown said the current gas pipeline was
“highly pressurised” and there was a “high risk” to mine workers’ safety. The
matter needed to be addressed by management “in the short term”.
Brown identified key issues as a thick coal seam with a high
level of gas, and a workforce with low knowledge of the risks of gas drainage
holes and pipelines.
“The last outcome Pike River Coal needs is a safety
failure,” warned Brown – a comment that Whittall described as “an obvious
statement”.
By September, the larger pipes and riser recommended by
Brown had still not been installed. Whittall told the inquiry that because the
matters raised by Brown were operational, he wouldn’t expect to be advised,
although he was aware his managers planned to replace the gas pipeline. At the
time of the three reports, Whittall’s position was general manager of mines,
but he said issues such as those raised by Brown would be handled by Pike’s
operations manager and statutory mine manager Doug White.
The inquiry also heard that Pike had intended to install two
underground ventilation fans. However, only one was installed, which was
commissioned just weeks before the November explosion.
It had also planned to install a tube bundle gas monitoring
system – a network of tubes that pump gas samples from all parts of the mine to
the control room, and is standard kit in virtually all underground coal mines.
At the time of the explosion, this had also not been done. Whittall said it was
in the budget for April 2011. Pike had a system of “real time” sensors that
took gas readings in certain areas of the mine and sent the data by fibre optic
cable to the control room, but Whittall agreed it was commonly accepted in the
industry that both systems were needed.
In other evidence, Whittall said Pike had been deemed under
the mining regulations to be a “gassy” mine from about September 2008. Yet in
public statements since the November 19 explosion, both he and Pike chairman
John Dow have rejected that description. In interviews here and here in the
days following the explosion, both men insisted the mine had only low to
moderate gas levels.
The Commission's hearing also heard further discussion about the
inadequacy of Pike’s 100m vertical ventilation shaft as an escape route, and
the planned, but never built, second egress route. It was revealed that the
Mines Rescue Service had conducted an emergency and self-escape audit at Pike
in August 2009, and declared it would be “virtually impossible” to escape up
the shaft in the event of a fire underground, and “extremely difficult” under
normal circumstances.
A second means of emergency egress is required in the
underground mining regulations, but Whittall said he couldn’t recall any
correspondence with the Department of Labour’s mining inspector over the issue
of escape via the vent shaft. He also couldn’t remember whether there had ever
been a trial to see if all the underground workers could get up the shaft, nor
did he know whether the ability to climb the ladder while using breathing
apparatus had ever been tested.
Although the shaft was “deemed” to be an escapeway, Pike had
decided not to “define” it legally as the second means of egress. Whittall
referred to “discussion with the inspector” about the matter. Although the
shaft could be used, Pike wanted workers to head for the underground fresh-air
base in an emergency.
A second emergency exit route had been planned for years by
Pike, and it had reviewed several potential sites in the bush-clad, mountainous
terrain above the mine. There was no point, Whittall said, in coming out into
the flood zone of a stream, or a place inaccessible by helicopter. “It’s pretty
tiger country, there’s no easy place to come out and suddenly have a wonderful
spot for a bus to come and pick everyone up from.”
Whittall also revealed yesterday that close to $350 million
had been spent on mine development by the time of the explosion – 10 times more
than the original estimates cited in a 1995 pre-feasibility study. It was
anticipating a $54 million cash shortfall by December 2010, and had been forced
to go to investors for a fifth time to raise more money. A $70 million capital
raising was being finalised at the time of the disaste.
Clear footage shows men in mining hats, overalls and safety
belts sitting side-by-side in caged drift runners as they travel underground
into the Pike River coal mine.
For 29 of them, it will be the last time they see daylight
again.
Last night some of the families of the dead miners viewed
about two hours of video captured by a movement-activated camera at the mine
entrance last November 19, the day of the West Coast mine's fatal explosion.
Bernie Monk, spokesman for some of the families, told The
Press the footage was deeply emotional for the group of family members.
''It was like watching people go to their deaths.''
He found it difficult to work out which man was his son,
Michael, 23, who died in the mine, despite knowing what time Michael's shift
started.
''With their gear on and hats on, it's hard to pick out
who's who but there are people who are identifiable,'' he said.
One woman at last night's meeting recognised her husband on
the footage, who drove one of the vehicles into the mine.
''That was moving for her,'' Monk said.
Disappointment at Late Showing
The video captured all movements at the mine's portal from
about 6am until 7.35pm - several hours after the explosion, which was also
shown.
''I'm so disappointed we haven't been shown this before,''
Monk said.
Only the explosion footage had been shown publicly
previously.
The clip also showed a group of people leaving the mine
about two minutes before it exploded, he said.
The families' lawyer, Nicholas Davidson QC, said one Pike
family had tried unsuccessfully to get the police to release the video footage,
so approached him for help.
Police released it on Wednesday, a day after he had
requested it. The families were told about it at their weekly meeting on
Wednesday night.
''For the families, it's very emotional,'' said Davidson.
He said one man's face was clearly visible, but most were
obscured because they sat facing each other, enclosed in the vehicle, while
being transported down the 2.4 kilometre drift into the mine's working section.
''That one family will be deeply affected by it. It will
change their last memory of him.''
Some families had requested to see the video privately and
would be shown it today.
A viewing would also be held in Christchurch over the
weekend, he said.
It was still being worked out how to show families overseas.
Davidson had also asked police for any other footage taken
around the mine site, which could show the 29 men's movements before they went
underground.
Monk said the footage made him frustrated that
the men's bodies were still in the mine.
''Just the thought of seeing these guys going to work 10
months ago and we still can't get them out.''
Re-entry Big Progress
Davidson said progress was being made in the bid to re-enter
the mine.
The preferred way was Mines Rescue Service volunteers
walking in, up to the rockfall, he said.
They were practicing walking uphill with respirators
yesterday and today to see if it would be possible.
In another significant development, a high-powered camera
from Australia was expected to arrive next week, which would be lowered into
the mine to film where the men's bodies could lay and other areas.
Davidson said the camera could illuminate about 60-70m,
which would transform what was known about conditions inside the mine and could
detect bodies.
PricewaterhouseCoopers receiver John Fisk confirmed
yesterday police had sought approval to put a video camera down bore holes in
the mine next week.
He said options to re-enter the mine would be considered by
its expert panel, but it was expected to cost $1-2 million to recover the mine
drift up to the rockfall, about 2.4km from the mine entrance.
On Monday, phase two of the Royal Commission into the
tragedy is expected to begin in Greymouth. This phase examines the search and
rescue efforts.
A YEAR ON, CHILE'S RESCUED MINERS' RICHES ONLY RUMOURS
One of the myths surrounding the 33 miners who were so
dramatically rescued after being trapped for 69 days deep inside a Chilean
copper mine is that they're all millionaires and no longer need to work.
The truth: nearly half the men have been unemployed since
their mine collapsed one year ago today, and just one, the flamboyant Mario
Sepulveda, has managed to live well off the fame. Most have signed up to give
motivational speeches. Four, so far, have gone back underground to pound rock
for a living.
"Los 33" have filed negligence lawsuits demanding
US$10 million (NZ$11.9m) from the bankrupt mine's owners and US$17 million
(NZ$20.3m) from the government for failing to enforce safety regulations, but
years remain before any payout.
Despite rumours that miners got rich off media interviews,
most got only paid trips, hotel stays and the kinds of gifts that don't put
food on tables.
Neither did they profit from the books written about them so
far. Only recently did they finally reach a deal with a Hollywood agent for an
authorised book and movie, but they have yet to see any money from that,
either.
A year after they were buried alive by a mine collapse 800
metres below the surface, the remarkable unity that many credited with helping
them survive has fallen victim to misunderstandings over fame and money. Only
some plan to join Chile's president, Sebastian Pinera, in Copiapo and at the
San Jose Mine tonight (NZ time) for an anniversary mass and museum
inauguration. Sepulveda is among those who want no part of the ceremonies.
All have been hoping that Pinera announce lifelong pensions
of about US$430 (NZ$514) a month for the 33. The government seems willing to
pay, but the exact amount has been under negotiation for some time now, several
miners told The Associated Press.
Many have gotten by until now on the philanthropy of an
eccentric millionaire and Chilean mine owner, Leonardo Farkas, who wrote them
checks for 5 million pesos (about NZ$13,111), threw them a lavish party and
gave each a motorcycle. Farkas then doubled the amount for a miner whose baby
was born while he was trapped down below, and another who skipped his baby's
birth to attend the party.
Shift foreman Luis Urzua, who kept the men unified when
nearly all hope was lost, told the AP that he's saddened by critics of the
miners' lawsuits, who say they should simply be grateful they were rescued.
"We're very content, very grateful to the government
and the president for what they did. We filed this lawsuit so that people
understand that everyone has the right to sue when things aren't being done
correctly," Urzua said.
Many Chileans don't distinguish between government agencies
and the administration of Pinera, which spent as much as US$20 million on the
rescue only to see his approval ratings drop from 60 per cent at their peak to
30 per cent today, the lowest of any Chilean president since the nation
recovered its democracy in 1990, according to Adimark's monthly tracking poll.
Housewife Cecilia Cruz, for example, told the AP that
"the miners are a bunch of ingrates, after all the money the government
spent rescuing them."
Pinera has been beset by striking miners, students,
teachers, earthquake and tsunami survivors, Mapuche Indians and others marching
against his government. While in Copiapo on Friday, he'll also likely face the
240 other San Jose Mine workers who escaped the collapse only to lose their
jobs when the mine closed. Many are still unemployed and have only received 40
percent of their severances.
The government has resisted calls to make payments on behalf
of the bankrupt mining company, fearful of a precedent that could sap profits
from the entire industry, Chile's main revenue source. But the state-owned
National Mining Company did lend US$1.2 million this week to pay the mine
owners' debts to the workers.
Only 19 of the 33 rescued men would see some of this money -
the others won't get anything because they worked for outside contractors, or
have had most of their salaries paid by the state while on medical leave.
- AP
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http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/5357156/Officials-swap-tips-on-handling-disasters OFFICIALS SWAP TIPS ON HANDLING DISASTERS
ANDREA VANCE Last updated 05:00 29/07/2011
Emergency relief payments and better use of mobile phone
technology in natural disasters should be considered, Police Minister Judith
Collins says.
Ms Collins is chairing a meeting of 60 New Zealand and
Australian police and emergency management ministers, police commissioners and
senior officials in Wellington this week.
Australian officials delivered a report on the handling of
the Queensland floods and the Victorian bushfires yesterday.
Emergency payments and disaster grants were given to victims
of the Queensland floods and authorities are now reviewing how that worked.
Once Ms Collins has seen the results of that review, she
will consider taking the idea to colleagues.
Ms Collins said she was also interested that text alerts
were sent during emergencies in Australia – although there were problems with
blackouts and coverage, and that people turned off their cellphones at night.
She also said she was able to thank Australian police for
their help during the Christchurch earthquake.
Today a communique will outline how Australia and New
Zealand can work together at an operational and strategic level, and ways to
implement best practices across jurisdictions.
DEIDRE MUSSEN looks back over the first week of evidence heard by the royal commission of inquiry into the deaths of 29 mine workers after an explosion at the Pike River Coal mine in November.
Revelations about the Pike River Coal mine's safety failures have been aired this week at the royal commission of inquiry into last November's fatal explosions.
Criticisms were fired at Pike River Coal over tunnel stability, ventilation problems and a failure to properly understand the mine's geology and risks.
Mining law changes were also cited as a factor in the disaster and the company's financial struggles were put under the spotlight during hearings in Greymouth.
Yesterday, it was revealed Pike River had failed to develop a second emergency exit and planned to use a ventilation shaft as its sole emergency exit, but it was deemed unsuitable because it was more than 100 metres high.
Former chief inspector of coal mines, Harry Bell, raised serious concerns about tunnel stability and ventilation.
Rolled-steel joists were supposed to be put in the mine's tunnel to support the unstable Hawera fault area but instead Pike River Coal used shotcrete, a type of concrete.
Bell said shotcrete would not withstand an earthquake.
Before the hearing, it was revealed a rockfall about 2.3km up the tunnel blocked access to the 29 men's bodies in the mine's working area.
Bell, who had 62 years coalmining experience and worked at the Pike River mine at times between 2006 and 2008, said the mine's ventilation system was too slow and unable to deal with methane, which could accumulate in the tunnel.
Dr Jane Newman, a geologist with more than 30 years experience in studying the Pike River coal seam, said the company lacked geological knowledge.
Her hypothesis for the explosion was the coal seam might have been split in two by a sandstone rock layer. Methane gas trapped in the unknown coal seam above or below where the miners worked could have been released in an outburst, or could have caused roof instability.
"I'm not saying that this is necessarily what happened at Pike River; this is just an example of potentially what can happen."
Knowledge of the geology of the area being mined in the latter half of last year was limited.Underground mining was "inherently dangerous" on the West Coast, Newman said. She warned her husband not to enter the mine because she feared it was unsafe in the middle of last year, only months before the fatal explosions.
In his introduction on Monday, counsel assisting the commission, James Wilding, said the mine development's estimated capital cost was $29.3 million in May 1995 but that had ballooned to $207m by May 2007 and continued to rise.
Ad Feedback Its predicted production had also plummeted compared with earlier forecasts.
Solid Energy chief executive Dr Don Elder said factors posing potential safety risks at the coalmine included difficult geological conditions, hydraulic mining method and prolonged financial pressure on the company because of years of production delays.
By Solid Energy's standards, Pike River Coal had been "over- optimistic" about its commercial viability and its coal was less valuable than expected, Elder said.
Stacey Shortall, counsel for Pike River directors, officers and management, accused Elder of trying to talk down the mine's value to make it cheaper for Solid Energy to buy it.However, Elder vehemently denied this.
Former chief inspector of coal mines, Robin Hughes, cited mining law changes in the early 1990s as the tragedy's origin.
"The explosion at Pike River Mine on the 19th of November 2010 had its origins in the repealing of the [1979] Coal Mines Act and its regulations in 1993," Hughes said.
That legislation was replaced by the Health and Safety in Employment Act, which led to infrequent visits by mines inspectors, fewer inspectors and decreasing knowledge of the industry, he said.
Ultimately, the inspectorate was ditched when further law changes were introduced in 1999.
"It became an ambulance at the bottom of the cliff and not a fence at the top," said Hughes, who had more than 40 years experience in coalmining.
The inquiry's first phase into context surrounding the disaster is expected to finish late next week.
The next phase is scheduled to start on September 5 and will look into the search and rescue operation and the cause of the loss of the 29 mine workers' lives.It is expected to run for three weeks.
Dates have yet to be set for the final two phases, which will cover what happened at Pike River on November 19 last year and compare New Zealand's mining practices with those in selected overseas countries.
The impact environmental issues have on mining will also be considered.
If safety at the Pike River coal mine was compromised then
those responsible must pay a high price, says the father of one of the 29 men
killed in last November's blasts.
Malcolm Campbell's son Malcolm was one of two Scotsmen
killed in the mine. He has been following the Royal Commission of Inquiry's
first week of public hearings into the mining disaster from his home in
Cameron, near St Andrews in Scotland, and told his local newspaper it appeared
from the evidence so far that the planning and the design of the mine was
flawed.
"Miners should always be as safe as possible and that
may not have been the case at Pike River," he told The Courier.
Campbell said his son had been working at the mine for some
time prior to his death and had told him the miners were under
"mega-pressure" to get out as much coal as possible.
"It was all about money and I think a few corners may
have been cut when it came to safety." If safety was indeed compromised,
those responsible must pay a high price, Campbell said. "At the end of the
day, 29 people have died," he said.
"The miners put their faith in their managers and it
looks like they may have been let down. I think it will be shown that safety
was flawed ... and if somebody has been negligent then they must be
punished."
During the first week of public hearings it emerged that:
Industry leaders regarded Pike River Coal's production and
financial claims as over-optimistic and under-researched. Solid Energy chief
executive Don Elder testified he believed prolonged financial and production
pressures were among factors with significant potential to be behind safety
risks at Pike.
A geologist with more than 30 years of experience of the
Pike River coal seam warned her husband not to enter the mine just months
before the explosions. Jane Newman testified tight finances at the mine meant
research, including extra drillholes, and training she had recommended had not
eventuated.
Australian mining experts felt the training given to Pike
River contractors was inadequate.
There were ongoing concerns about mine ventilation and the
number of ignitions occurring.
Former mines inspectors believed the Pike mine plans should
never have been approved and would not have been under the old system (mining
laws changed in 1992 when the industry became largely self-regulated).
Two regulatory agencies visited the Pike River mine just
three days before the explosion that killed 29 men last November.
Australian mining expert Dr David Cliff, who has
been following the progress of the hearings through webcasts, said a lot of
interesting stuff had emerged but told the Star-Times he was constrained as to
what he could say about it because he was involved with the investigation by
police and the Department of Labour.
"I am sure that there is more to come," he said.
This week Peter Whittall, the chief executive of Pike River
Coal, which is now in receivership, will make his first appearance before the
commission.
Whittall's evidence will be crucial to the inquiry and he is
expected to face prolonged cross-examination from the team of lawyers
representing other parties involved in the inquiry.
He will be the last person to take the stand, in this, the
first phase of the inquiry.
The second phase of the inquiry, which concentrates on the
search and rescue operation that followed the first explosion at the mine, will
begin in early September when more public hearings are scheduled.
PIKE RIVER SURVIVORS PUT THROUGH TO VOICE MAIL, PARLIAMENT HEARS
ANDREA VANCE Last updated 16:23 13/07/2011
Two miners who escaped explosions in the Pike River coal mine rang an emergency hotline which put them through to a voicemail, Parliament has heard.
Green MP Kevin Hague revealed the details as he questioned Labour Minister Kate Wilkinson about mine safety today.
Daniel Rockhouse helped injured Russel Smith out of the shaft and found the emergency phone.
''They used the phone which is supposed to go directly to the surface control room. That is where the control of safety issues is in the mine at all times,'' Mr Hague told Fairfax.
''It cannot be right for it to go through to an answering machine... it was a while before they got through.''
He said it was ''unbelievable that could occur.''
Hague has been urging the government to make immediate changes to improve mine safety in the wake of the November 19 disaster which claimed 29 lives.
He says standards have been declining since the 1990s when rules were relaxed by a National government.
But the government has said there will be no changes to laws until after a Royal Commission of Inquiry is completed.
Last week he showed parliament a photograph of a 55m vertical ladder from inside the mine. Under previous regulations ladders had to have safety platforms at regular intervals.
''Most people would believe that it's not acceptable to understand that there are deficiencies in the safety systems and yet do nothing about them,'' Hague said.
Wilkinson said she preferred to wait for the outcome of the inquiry.
NO
PLATFORMS: A 55m ladder in the Pike River coalmine up to a makeshift emergency exit namely a ventiliation shaft where poisonous gases accumulate.
Any miner who survived blasts in the Pike River coal mine would not have been able to climb a steep ladder up to an emergency exit, a safety consultant says.
Green Party MP Kevin Hague yesterday tabled in Parliament a photograph of a 55-metrevertical ladder in the doomed mine, where 29 men lost their lives.
Previous safety regulations, relaxed by the National Government in the 1990s, would haverequired a safety platform every nine metres.
Hequestioned Labour Minister Kate Wilkinson about standards that allowed the ladder.
Mine safety expert Dave Feickert said it would have been too physically demanding to make the ascent when the air was full of of carbon dioxide and starved of oxygen.
"Of course Daniel Rockhouse wouldn't have been able to drag Russell [Smith] through that exit. He might have been able to get up there himself."
Mr Rockhouse dragged his injured colleague half a kilometre to safety through the tunnel exit.Mr Hague said safety improvements were needed immediately, but the Government says there will be no changes until a royal commission of inquiry into the November 19 disaster has finished.
Mr Hague asked that check inspectors, abolished in 1992, and a fully funded mine inspectorate, dismantled in 1998, be reinstated.
Workers have authority to clear a mine if they consider it dangerous.
Safety standards have "gone backwards," since the 1990s, Mr Feickert said."We moved to self-regulation by the industry. Companies were required todo most of the safety work ... You get a situation like Pike River, basically they are on their own.
"Managers and the men were really left on their own by the legislative process. The restof the industry weren't helping them. They were competitors in many cases, so why would they? The mine inspectors had fewer powers so they couldn't help them."
MrFeickert wants the Government to appoint a provisional chief inspector "overnight" to start work on tighter regulations.
Ms Wilkinson told Parliament: "Of course we have concerns about mine safety, which is why we have taken the matter of Pike River very seriously."
