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

Police made the "wrong call" to raise hopes for a rescue after the first Pike River Coal mine explosion, Grey District Mayor Tony Kokshoorn says.

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.

The Pike River mine tragedy would not have happened if NZ had maintained a mining inspector programme canned more than a decade ago, a mining expert says. He says families are right to be furious at the Govt for interfering in mine safety.

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.

Receivers of the company that owns the Pike River mine say it is unlikely the bodies of the 29 workers will ever be recovered.

Last year was a 'bitterly disappointing' year for farmers, with the number of deaths nearly doubling to 17, Federated Farmers says.

Police Commissioner Howard Broad has announced police are all but giving up hope of recovering the remains of the 29 Pike River miners.

The heads of police and the Department of Conservation will deliver news in person today to the families of the 29 dead workers in the Pike River mine.

The "vast majority" of the Pike River Royal Commission of Inquiry hearings into the tragedy which claimed the lives of 29 men will be held in Greymouth, the commission says.

A man who allegedly posed as a Pike River miner to steal from a family who befriended him was remanded in custody when he appeared in court today.

Police are on the lookout for a man who posed as a Pike River miner to steal from a family who befriended him on Christmas Eve.

Families of the 29 men killed in the Pike River Coal mine tragedy have publicly thanked everyone involved in the rescue and recovery operation.

Temperatures inside the Pike River Coal mine continue to fluctuate, frustrating those charged with retrieving the bodies of 29 men killed in a series of explosions since November 19.

Payouts will be made to the contracting companies that employed the men who died in the massive explosions at the Pike River coal mine, receivers announced today.

The family of Ben Rockhouse, who died in the Pike mine, have praised the 'selflessness and generosity' of the people of NZ.

Pike River Coal's receivers say it could take up to four months to re-enter the mine in which 29 workers died in an explosion last month. Receivers PricewaterhouseCooper (PWC) today presented a draft plan for re-entry.