The Coronial Inquest into the deaths of 29 men in the Pike River Coal mine will be held early next year, the chief coroner Judge MacLean says.

On Friday the 19th November I discovered my brother Conrad Adams was one of the 29 men who were inside the Pike River mine.

Families of the men killed in the Pike River mine will be getting immediate financial relief to get them through Christmas.

Pike River Mine was evacuated this morning when gas levels rose sharply...

Gas readings have been promising at the Pike River Coal mine since an Australian generator began pumping nitrogen into the mine yesterday to help cool the environment inside.

Labour Leader Phil Goff has joined calls for the Government to fund the recovery of the bodies of 29 men trapped in the Pike River mine.

Out-of-work Pike River miners will start finding out today if they have jobs, and if not, how much they will be paid out.

A grieving father and spokesman for families of the 29 men killed in the Pike River Coal mine says he's "gutted" for the Pike River workers made redundant after the company went into receivership.

Grey District Mayor Tony Kokshoorn is calling for Pike River to be made into an opencast coal mine, amid efforts to keep the 114 skilled miners made redundant today on the West Coast.

An Australian mine safety expert and a former senior NZ public servant have been named as Royal Commissioners in the Pike River mine tragedy inquiry.

The majority of miners remaining at Pike River Coal mine look set to lose their jobs, as officials today told workers they were going to proceed with redundancies three weeks after a series of explosions killed 29 workers inside the mine.

The fire which has been raging for days at the Pike River Coal mine is definitely out, say Australians brought in to operate the GAG jet unit which has been pumping carbon dioxide into the mine.

Pike River Coal will have to reduce its workforce when it is ready to re-establish operations, but CEO Peter Whittall says reports of possible receivership were "extremely premature".

There are fresh hopes firefighters will soon be able to cap a key ventilation shaft at the Pike River mine, after the disappearance of flames from the vent.