The Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Pike River Coal mine tragedy will hold a preliminary hearing in early March.

The Miners' Solidarity Day will see the Warriors play Newcastle tomorrow in a match to remember the victims of the tragedy.

There's a "strong possibility" Pike River Coal mine contractors will never receive money owed to them, a receiver says.

A woman whose brother died in the Pike River mine is questioning why victims' families were given hope after the first blast when experts say it was not survivable.

All 29 men lost in the Pike River disaster died within minutes of the first blast in the West Coast coal mine, a coronial inquest into the disaster has concluded.

The man charged with overseeing the Pike River mine smelled diesel or exhaust in the air about the time it was hit with an explosion that killed 29 men.

The 29 workers who died in the Pike River disaster would have died within minutes of the original explosion at the West Coast coal mine, a coronial hearing in Greymouth has heard.

John Key has defended police in the wake of a damning report and a much criticised decision to end recovery efforts at Pike River Coal mine.

The father of a miner who died at Pike River has accused police and the Government of withholding information that shows bodies may be recovered intact from the explosion-hit coal mine.

A proposed Pike River mine stabilisation plan doesn't allow for the recovery of the miners and won't guarantee the future of the mine. The Receivers of Pike River Coal Limited presented their mine stabilisation plan to the Commissioner of P

A proposed Pike River mine stabilisation plan doesn't allow for the recovery of the miners and won’t guarantee the future of the mine.

Labour leader Phil Goff has accused John Key of "passing the buck" on whether to permanently seal the Pike River coal mine. Receivers have been given until 5pm today to come up with a plan for stabilising the mine.

Sealing the Pike River mine could see vital evidence lost, the lawyer for the families of those killed says.

A police staff member wound up in a spat with Grey District mayor Tony Kokshoorn after finding him "wired" with a television recording device.

Some Pike River relatives were always resigned to the fact that the remains would never be returned.

The families of the 29 lost Pike River miners say they are "gravely concerned" that the Government and police are abandoning recovery efforts at the mine and are calling for the decision to be reassessed.

The Pike River mine will be sealed and there is little or no chance of the bodies of 29 men killed being recovered in the near future, says Prime Minister John Key. He said it was "not an issue of money or time or commitment."

Closing the Pike River coal mine and handing the land back to the government is the worst-case scenario, according to the company's receiver.