What commodity market bulls will say ...

State-owned Solid Energy says it has lost at least $30m after operations at its underground Spring Creek mine were suspended five months ago due to safety concerns.

A new venture in Denniston allows visitors to step back 100 years to experience life in the coal mines, complete with ghostly visions and echoes of another era, writes Jim Eagles.

Tony Kokshoorn says authorities involved in the Pike River mine disaster have failed to communicate "from day one".

Police last night told families of the Pike River mine victims that there was a possibility rescuers had identified a body in the mine. There was also evidence that rescue boxes in the mine had been opened.

The centre will be named the West Coast Memorial Events Centre in memory of the Pike River and other mine disaster victims.

A third of the remaining employees at Pike River Mine on the West Coast are set to lose their jobs.

Cash-strapped company Pike River Coal Ltd says it can only afford a limited role in the Royal Commission of Inquiry.

Labour Department investigators are asking for more time to decide whether to prosecute over the fatal Pike River Mine explosions.