White continued giving evidence at the third phase of the Royal Commission inquiry into the Pike River mine disaster which will wrap up today.

The commission earlier heard how White, three days before the explosion, had sent a personal email stating Whittall was “still a dodgy git.”

Lawyer for Whittall, Stacey Shortall, proceeded to question White over the remarks, exclaiming also that her client was very upset over the attack.

White said he never imagined his personal email exchanges would be heard in the Royal Commission and making headlines around the world.

If he knew this he would have been more “selective” with his words, but admitted he did not regret his comments.

“Do you regret at least some of the language that you used in that email Mr White?” Shortall asked.

“There's no way I would have expected that to be aired in public, but I don't regret having written that email,” White said.

Shortall said Whittall was upset to hear how White really felt about him as White had never directly expressed this to him in person.

“Now I've spoken with him (Whittall) overnight and he’s absolutely devastated to learn for the very first time in these hearings that you felt that way,” Shortall said.

“You wouldn't be surprised that Mr Whittall vehemently denies all of your email comments about him being dodgy or lying or the other accusations you've made?” she continued.

“He may well do but he did lie,” White said.

White had earlier accused Whittall of lying when his former boss blamed him for Pike River Coal’s share price dropping almost seven cents.

Shortall also brought to light remarks made by White in a police interview following the explosion in which he labelled Whittall “overbearing” and “dictatorial”

Shortalll said there had been a process of omission in the inquiry, because in the same police recording White had also said Whittall was of a good nature.

In the recording White also said: “But to talk to the bloke on a one to one basis [and] he’s the nicest bloke you’ll meet in the world, you know.”

Later in the day the commission heard from Pike River’s former technical services manager Pieter van Rooyen.

The trained geologist had worked in Namibia before joining Pike River in February 2009.

His duties at Pike revolved around mine geology and mine design.

Giving evidence, Van Rooyen told the commission he was working gruelling hours at Pike River, which ultimately resulted in him resigning from the company only two weeks before the explosion.

“I was working between 70 and 90 hours each week …when I worked on weekends it was usually for four to six hours on average,” he said.

“Some weeks I worked for more than 110 hours.”

Van Rooyen said the long work hours were due to a range of factors, including continual changes in the mine design and regular revising of the production schedules and profiles.

“In the last few months production underperformance at the mine required increased reporting to the bank, the board and head office in Wellington,” Van Rooyen said.

He said he did not leave Pike River due to safety concerns.

The commission heard that on Van Rooyen’s first day the main ventilation shaft collapsed.

As a result he had to re-design the ventilation system, which included installing the Alimak rise and also the slimline shaft.

Turning to the discussion of hydro-mining at Pike River, Van Rooyen told how he was involved in determining the position of the monitor.

Hydro-mining started roughly two months before the deadly explosion.

Van Rooyen said he would have preferred hydro-mining at Pike River to have been delayed until the main fan was commissioned due to inadequate ventilation at the mine.

He said however this was a matter beyond his control and was “decided by others.”

Van Rooyan will continue to give evidence today.