The receiver for Pike River Coal doesn't expect to sign a sale agreement before Christmas as negotiations with international parties interested in the sealed coal mine continue.
Receiver John Fisk of PricewaterhouseCoopers said he didn't expect to conclude the deal before December 25 as he looked to sell the West Coast mine's assets.
"There are a number of international parties that are interested in the mine but they each have their own internal processes to follow which will take longer than we had initially hoped,'' Mr Fisk said in a statement.
As part of the sale, the receiver expected to establish a trust that would help oversee efforts to reopen the mine and recover any remains of the 29 miners who died in the explosions which closed the mine in November last year.
"We expect the purchaser to prepare a detailed plan and timetable, use best endeavours to carry out body recovery and to have set aside funds to be used for that purpose. As noted previously, unfortunately no one can give any guarantees to the families about re-entry of the mine's main workings or how long that process may take. Everyone involved understands how anxious the families are to recover their loved ones, but this will be an extremely complex task and safety is paramount,'' Mr Fisk said in a statement.
Meanwhile, work to seal and ventilate the mine access tunnel was continuing.
Drilling of a borehole had begun in conjunction with preparatory work for the injection of a foaming chemical to be injected into the mine to create a seal at the rock fall located at the top end of the access tunnel. While there remain a number of challenges ahead within the process for reclaiming of the tunnel and the outcome is not guaranteed, it is hoped the process will be completed in February.
Mr Fisk said it was pleasing to see the project underway.
"The efforts to reclaim the tunnel would not be possible without the hard work of the Pike River staff who have been retained to manage this task and the support of secured creditor New Zealand Oil & Gas Limited.
"At the same time, staff from Pike and the receivers have been working with the families' independent project manager to understand the complexity and timing of the challenges relating to the recovery of the tunnel and the mine.''
