Pike River chairman John Dow told a media conference in Greymouth yesterday the mine's badly damaged underground infrastructure could be fixed.
"I think it's unlikely it is unfixable," he said. The issue would be "what caused this horrible tragedy in the first place".
Before the mining operation could be re-established, the company needed to know "if it's feasible to do so and if it's practical to do so and if it's safe".
The company carried two business interruption insurance policies with a total value of $100 million.
"So, there's a significant asset, if you like, available to us."
He said work on the insurance claim was well advanced but "you've got to make sure the insurer accepts the claim and pays it out as we expect".
It would be some months before the company expected to receive the funds, he said. In the meantime, major shareholder New Zealand Oil and Gas had released loan money to the company and an agreement had been reached with it and the other principal lender, the BNZ.
Both would extend the repayment dates on loans to February 28 and suspend the payment of interest, giving Pike River "breathing space" while the damage and the future of the mine were assessed.
Mr Dow said there were "cost implications" in the time it took to establish the cause.
He said police wanted to complete the interviews by Christmas.
"If they can get it wrapped up by Christmas, we'll be starting to get answers sooner rather than having the thing drag on and on.
"But I'm also conscious that there's a need for some respect here as well.
"We aren't rushing to do this.
"As I've said consistently all through the week, bringing our men out and getting them home to their families remains the highest priority. That might take a while."
Company chief executive Peter Whittall said there was general support among the miners' families for the mine to be reopened, although he expected some staff were likely to leave the company and the industry.
Mr Dow said the mine's coal "has always been a high-value opportunity".
"There's been a lot of interest in Pike as an asset because of the high quality of the coal it has produced.
"That hasn't changed.
"The 60,000 tonnes of coal we have produced has hardly touched the original 58 million tonnes of resource.
"The uncertainty comes with (a) can we get back underground? and (b) when we get there, what will we find?
"And then, on top of all that, are the questions of what caused the accident in the first place," Mr Dow said.
"Clearly, we won't be a coal mine for a while. But equally clearly, this site has value. It has the ability to be rebuilt."
