Pike River family members are welcoming a police decision to look further into the mine, saying it's what they fought for.
Further borehole drilling will take place at Pike River Mine to help establish what caused the first explosion back in 2010, it's been announced
In a statement on Friday, police said the families of the 29 Pike River mine victims have been advised planning is underway to drill a further 10 boreholes at the mine.
The decision to undertake further drilling at the mine follows police consultation with an expert mine panel, as part of the ongoing criminal investigation into the first explosion at Pike River Mine on November 19, 2010.
Det Supt Peter Read said the families spoken to were surprised by the decision to undertake further borehole drilling but were grateful for the opportunity it offers in terms of evidence gathering.
"This is what we fought for. We did it for our men, but also for all New Zealanders," said Sonya Rockhouse, whose son Ben died in the mine.
"We weren't going to let this become a country where 29 men can be killed at work with no accountability," Rockhouse said.
Rockhouse thank the police for their commitment to justice and truth.
Pike River widow Anna Osborne said the news is "further confirmation of just how far the investigation into our men's deaths has come".
"Seven years ago we were being told that all that could be done had been done and that we should 'walk away.' We didn't. We fought for the reentry of the mine's drift and for the first borehole project and now we are getting closer to justice."
Read said the new boreholes will target what they believe is evidence that either corroborates what police know already or will answer questions about what happened that tragic day.
"The previous borehole drilling operation, which ran from June 2021 to March 2022, provided police with valuable information to inform our investigation into the underground activity that led to the first explosion at the mine."
Over the past four months, the investigation team and the expert mine panel have been reviewing the evidence gathered to date.
This review has established further borehole drilling is important to ensure the investigation team has all the necessary information to find out what caused the first explosion, Det Sup Read said.
Read said while the drilling is to find evidence, he "fully expects" they will see new human remains.
"The families of the 29 men lost at the mine have been waiting a long time for answers and I'm very aware in some respects this additional drilling operation could be seen as prolonging that wait.
"However, I hope the decision also provides some reassurance to the families that police remain absolutely committed to finding out as much as humanly possible about what led to the first explosion at the mine."
Preliminary conversations between the police and the Department of Conservation, with a formal consent process, are being worked through.
