A robot sent into the Pike River coal mine has found a miner's hat with the light still on. Footage taken underground will be shown to families at 4pm.

If you haven't got time to read all our in-depth coverage of the Pike River Mine disaster, here's a quick summary of five key things you need to know today.

Families at this morning's Pike River briefing were unhappy they were not shown blast footage until yesterday, a miner's father says.

"The families are frustrated, we are frustrated, the country is frustrated," John Key said after four days of waiting for a rescue effort.

If you haven't got time to read all our in-depth coverage of the Pike River Mine disaster, here's a quick summary of five key things you need to know today.

The day before he went down the mine for the first time, Joseph Dunbar turned 17.

Drilling on a new borehole into the Pike River coal mine is in its final stages, with 20m of the 162m tunnel to go.

An Aussie mine expert recalls when rescuers were within metres of 12 trapped miners, only to be recalled due to "off the chart" gas readings.