MARKETS

Gas levels surge again at Pike

THE Pike River mine in New Zealand, where 29 miners lost their lives in a gas explosion last year, is experiencing another dangerously high increase in carbon monoxide levels that is further delaying tests taken as part of its mine stabilisation plan.

Lou Caruana
Gas levels surge again at Pike

The mine remains unstable and work at the portal will have to be delayed by at least a week, PwC partner John Fisk, receiver of Pike River Coal Limited (In Receivership) said.

“We have been advised by the experts involved [that] the increased gas levels make it too unsafe to start work,” he said.

“This is a temporary setback but we realise the delay is frustrating for all those parties involved, especially the families and those who have spent the last two and a half months working to stabilise the mine.

“Ensuring everyone’s safety is our paramount concern. We’re committed to stabilising the mine and will continue to monitor gas levels and reassess the situation in the middle of next week.

“We have informed the families of the 29 men and will continue to provide updates on any further developments.”

A staged re-entry has already been flagged and work on placing a temporary seal 100m inside the mine is expected to start next week.

Fisk previously told ILN this effort would also involve replacing the hastily-made seal at the portal with more airtight steel double doors.

Under the conceptual re-entry plan, Mine Rescue personnel will set up temporary seals at intervals of 200 to 300 metres.

Fresh air would then be allowed into the mine up to each temporary seal as rescue specialists progressively worked their way up the tunnel.

This exercise would help identify whether the tunnel could be recovered and could allow personnel to get a better idea of how serious the roof fall was at the end of it.

About 1600m into the tunnel is an abandoned load-haul-dump vehicle.

Camera-equipped bomb disposal robots and the Western Australian Water Corporation’s tunnel inspection vehicle have failed to get around the LHD in all attempts so far.

TOPICS:

A growing series of reports, each focused on a key discussion point for the mining sector, brought to you by the Mining Monthly Intelligence team.

A growing series of reports, each focused on a key discussion point for the mining sector, brought to you by the Mining Monthly Intelligence team.

editions

Mining Magazine Intelligence Future Fleets Report 2024

The report paints a picture of the equipment landscape and includes detailed profiles of mines that are employing these fleets

editions

Mining Magazine Intelligence Digitalisation Report 2023

An in-depth review of operations that use digitalisation technology to drive improvements across all areas of mining production

editions

Mining Magazine Intelligence Automation Report 2023

An in-depth review of operations using autonomous solutions in every region and sector, including analysis of the factors driving investment decisions

editions

Mining Magazine Intelligence Exploration Report 2023 (feat. Opaxe data)

A comprehensive review of current exploration rates, trending exploration technologies, a ranking of top drill intercepts and a catalogue of 2022 Initial Resource Estimates and recent discovery successes.