The countdown is on for the Pike River Mine re-entry in three weeks' time, with the cost now set at $36 million. On November 14, Minister Responsible for Pike River Andrew Little announced that cabinet had approved an additional $14m for the preferred re-entry option, bringing the total budgeted cost to $36m. Mr Little's office said on Wednesday the Pike River Recovery Agency had advised the project was still on track to be delivered within the currently approved budget. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters, Mr Little, and Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage are all expected at the mine site that day. The re-entry effort is not into the mine workings, where the bodies of the 29 men are thought to lie.

Source: Otago Daily Times April 18, 2019 16:01 UTC