Written By:
notices and features - Date published:
6:44 pm, June 18th, 2017 - 21 comments
Categories: disaster, Mining, workers' rights -
Tags: pike river, Remembering the Pike River miners
On Newshub tonight:
New Pike footage shows no sign of inferno
New footage from deep inside Pike River Mine shows no sign of an inferno or underground fire.
…
Filmed in 2011, just over a month after the fourth 2010 explosion, the footage shows the coal face of the mine, as deep as operations had got.There are wooden pallets, rubber hoses, and other combustible items that are untouched and uncharred.
It flies in the face of what officials told the families on November 24 2010 – that the no one would have survived and the bodies would have been reduced to nothing.
The footage was taken by a camera lowered down a hole which had been drilled from 126m above the mine, known as borehole 44.
UK mines rescue consultant Brian Robinson says the footage shows there was no fire in the immediate area around borehole 44. …
See the video on Newshub.
Officials told Pike families the bodies were 'burnt to dust'. This footage shows otherwise. https://t.co/9HoRUeL2Sz
— Lloyd Burr (@LloydBurr) June 18, 2017
The current rise of populism challenges the way we think about people’s relationship to the economy.We seem to be entering an era of populism, in which leadership in a democracy is based on preferences of the population which do not seem entirely rational nor serving their longer interests. ...
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Bingles knows Nussink.
Not that he’d give a shit if he did know.
I remember after that second explosion a day after the incident I’m sure we were told no one could have survived it.
It’s a crime scene. Send the police in.
Strictly speaking, I’m pretty sure the Police can launch a criminal investigation on their own cognisance.
A matter for the Coroner?
And then the courts.
abandoned?
from memory mine rescue plans to re-enter were scuppered by the local plod
Indeed. and we can bet our bottom dollar that the Police Commissioner was fully briefed at the time as well.
Therefore it will be either A ) Time,… and the gradual process of attrition with more and more evidence and discrepancy’s becoming apparent, or B ) A change of government.
Preferably both.
This fundamental dishonesty is intolerable.
Pete George reckons it’s a fitting tomb. Just stick a cross out the front and stop getting emotional about it.
Above all, don’t criticise the National Party.
Even if National were to win this September – Pike River will be their eventual tomb. After it is proven that they lied , – and not only can the remains of their loved ones be repatriated to them , – that evidence of corruption and skulduggery have been carried out under two consecutive National party Prime Ministers.
This probably one of the darkest and immoral chapters in this country’s history with the amount of collusion and deceit in high office and govt depts.
This issue alone will be the fall of this current crop of National party politicians and they know it.
Mr Rockhouse’s mother Sonya says it proves what officials told the families in 2010 was wrong.
“I’ll never forget those words ‘There’s a raging inferno and there’ll be nothing left of them but dust’ and that simply is not true,” she told Newshub.
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Soooooooo ,…. now we have it, Ladies and Gentlemen.
The raging inferno theory, huh ?
A little bit like the ‘ massive rockfall’ theory , perhaps ?
Or the … ‘unstable drift due to fire / explosion ‘ theory , don’t you think ?
Or if that theory gets a little tired and jaded, how about the ‘dangerous gaseous mine ‘ theory – never mind workers happily installing a gas tight seal some several hundred meters in the drift – WITHOUT THE USE OF BREATHING EQUIPMENT.
And just for shits and giggles as well , – lets deny eminent world Mines Safety and Rescue experts reports that say RECOVERY CAN BE DONE – and rely on Solid Energy , a lying National govt and a corrupted WORKSAFE NZ that not only colluded to get Peter Whittall off the hook and evade justice , – but was a main driver in having Pike River SEALED UP !!!
So it appears that an explosion centered between the drift and the mine proper was the fault of an electrical station designed to run air flow and water flow ( NEVER creating all those conditions that we have been lied to about ) – that sparked and caused an initial explosion that combusted the methane released from a mine that never DID adhere to safety standards.
And the reason it never did was twofold: Profit , – and because our Iron sands are worth literally trillions of dollars and were to have been mined with coal from the likes of Pike River. And those underground operations are more costly to run in labour and wages and safety .
And these foreign multinationals that have been granted mining licences in OUR National Parks are waiting for the day to get the go ahead. The go ahead that John Key and Gerry Brownlee both tried to pursue right back at the beginning when John Key became Prime Minister.
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Government confirms mining backdown | Stuff.co.nz
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/3935783/Government-confirms-mining-backdown
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Page 1 of 3 | Mines and mineral resources | Items | National Library of …
natlib.govt.nz/items?…Mines+and+mineral+resources…Brownlee%2C+Gerard…
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So now the nasty little piece of globalist garbage called John Key has unceremoniously ditched National in light of Operation Burnham and the ongoing revelations regarding Pike River.
You know, – there’s a reason the elite bestow things like Knighthoods to cheats and liars like that – it makes them that much HARDER to nail down politically if bodies like the U.N or International Criminal Court decide to hold inquiries…
You can carry on with your evil all you like in this life with your globalist treachery , – but rest assured of ONE THING , – sooner or later you are going to die and stand before your Creator.
And NO Knighthood is going to save you in that day.
All the more hypocrisy with which to measure you by.
Thunder Underground – YouTube
More about how the NZ public have been played royally by this lying govt – including Bill English :
From a past post from The Standard January 21st, 2017 entitled :
Andrew Little: Together, we will fight for justice for Pike families
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* Not only does high levels of methane in the absence of oxygen (such as at Pike River which is 98% methane ) make a methane explosion impossible, – it also creates an ‘ inert’ gaseous environment.
* methane is combustible only at concentrations of 4.5 – 17 % in the presence of oxygen.
* Breathing apparatus would always be standard worn equipment – at least until sufficient monitoring demonstrated otherwise.
” And high levels of methane means that if enough air is introduced, or if there are pockets of air, or there are areas of different methane concentrations, there is raised risk.”
* The whole idea and plan put forwards by mines recovery experts is to seal off and then use an inert gas to flush methane out of that section. Then create the next seal and repeat thus ‘ walking ‘ ones way up the drift.
* the original seal 150 meters in was constructed without any fear of imminent explosions – and without breathing apparatus being worn apparently.
” If there is no raised risk why didn’t rescue teams go straight into the mine? ”
* As you will recall – they were originally prevented from doing so – by the Police – not by those skilled in working in mines and mines recovery teams.
” Why is there so much debate about re-entering the mine now?”
* Possibly for the same sorts of reasons Whittal was allowed to evade prosecution with WorkSafe NZ cutting a deal with Whittals insurance company – and also because as an example – our vast iron sand resources and the mining licenses that were granted to overseas mining company’s still stand.
The least bad publicity these corporate’s get the better in their view – because as cited above – our iron sands resources alone are placed at between $1 and $5 trillion dollars.
” The “in-ground resource value” of New Zealand’s extensive ironsand deposits could be between $1 trillion and $5 trillion, says state-owned energy company Solid Energy.”
https://www.nbr.co.nz/…/ironsand-could-produce-trillion-dollar-profit-elder-nn-8636.
( Regards the link above – google the rest after the initial highlighted link to see their article )
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Strangely – almost straight after this link appeared in The Standard it was deleted with a message that pops up saying ‘ Page Not Found’ .
Funny that…
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WILD KATIPO …
21 January 2017 at 6:53 pm
Just for personal interests sake – here is the article from the above link. Bear in mind that licenses that were granted are still valid and that many are overseas corporate’s – not just NZ company’s. Most New Zealanders are not aware of the colossal dollar value in minerals in and around our shores and in our National Parks – yet the bankers and investors have known about it for years – including our own politicians.
And that’s one of the reasons prosecutions and the reentry into Pike River is really being stonewalled.
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The “in-ground resource value” of New Zealand’s extensive ironsand deposits could be between $1 trillion and $5 trillion, says state-owned energy company Solid Energy.
The iron ore contained in ironsands off the west coast of the North Island has been estimated to be worth a trillion dollars, but Solid Energy chief executive Don Elder said that “the industry view is increasingly that (the value) could be substantially greater than that”.
The final value would depend on the price of steel, and the availability of technology to smelt ironsands, he told Parliament’s commerce select committee yesterday.
“Resources are attracting margins or profits in the order of 20 percent of the revenue.”
Prices seen in 2008 would mean profit margins of 50 percent or “significantly higher” could be available from ironsands.
A New Zealand-based company, Trans Tasman Resources Ltd (TTR), and overseas rivals are looking at exploiting New Zealand ironsands, and TTR has suggested that a domestic steel mill could use local high-grade coking coal to refine the ironsands.
Dr Elder said Chinese companies had cheaper labour and capital and could do such projects faster, but New Zealand had an advantage in the availability of the water needed for such a refinery.
“If you could process those in New Zealand, it’s a much much better value opportunity and would certainly compete with doing the same thing in China under the right circumstances, with the right technology…
Pike River was ONE of the mines that was envisioned to help supply that ‘high quality coking coal’ for the NZ iron sand smelting process….
As well… the same company that owned the Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia , USA , … that had a similar methane /coal dust explosion killing 29 workers with only 2 escaping ( just like Pike River) … several months before Pike River – also had financial interests in Pike River.
Go figure , people !!!
There’s a lot more riding on this whole thing than meets the eye with some pretty powerful local and offshore vested interests who are working to ensure Pike River evidence never gets to see the light of day.
Entering the mine at 100% methane is objectively not more dangerous than scuba diving. Possibly less so due to the lack of pressure.
What intrigues me is why the insurance company paid out given the total lack of proper investigation.
RedLogix 6.1
18 June 2017 at 10:20 pm
‘What intrigues me is why the insurance company paid out given the total lack of proper investigation.’
Exactly.
And to risk being seen to subvert New Zealand’s due process of our Health and Safety laws as well?
Seems kind of Un – Insurance – like behavior ?… does it not ?
Particularly in light of the vast amount of dollars potentially involved in future mining operations in New Zealand , – and those political careers and globalist supranational corporate directives IF THE TTPA and its Investor State Disputes Settlements had gone ahead under John Key???
I think you would have to be either pigshit naive ignorant or part of the problem if you have difficulty’s in NOT BEING ABLE to connect the dots.
Pick River.
Grenfell.
The poor die.
The powerful cover up and lie.
Although dramatized, this almost humorous ( despite the idiot ‘ USA ‘ yell near the beginning ) depiction of George C Scott as Gen George ‘ Blood and Guts’ Patton should figuratively be , at least , – the attitude we should have to globalists and dishonest treasonous shitters like these neo liberals that culminated in things like Pike River and has permeated our country for the last 33 years.
You are literally at war with the bastards
Patton Speech – YouTube
Video for Patton Speech jetjtink jetjtink▶ 6:18
May 22, 2006 – Uploaded by jetjtink
Several boreholes exist. Rather than the partial picture provided by this drip feed of evidence it would be far better for everything to be released, at least to the families.
If anyone is interested, Sainso is talking about Pike this morning on Radio Live, it’s something he is very passionate about, worth tuning in if you can.
http://www.radiolive.co.nz/home.player.html
I feel so much sadness for the workers and the families. It’s also incomprehensible how they were just left to die without any rescue attempt.
The media often has international mining disasters, in USSR, China, USA, Chile, all these other countries they mount often successful rescues.
I’ve never seen any other country apart from Pike River and NZ, just leave the miners down there to die, without any attempt to save them.
I bet the surviving miners wish they had just ignored the fucking management idiots who washed their hands of a rescue attempt and put it in charge of the police (sounds familiar like Serco jettisoning the dying prisoner into the state prisons to avoid responsibility) who of course knew nothing about mining and should never had been put in that position.
Grenfell shows how corporate manslaughter seems to be blooming in the modern Western society.
There are too many accountants, lawyers, marketing spin and money people in charge who left their soul behind years ago running these corporations. When things go wrong they just seem to exit and leave the mess to the public officials like police and firefighters to sort out on their behalf.
At least in the UK they seem to have more fight to hold the government to account.
Keep fighting for Pike River justice!
It’s not to late to hold the NZ government to account for a) letting a lethal mine operate in the first place, b) to let management off corporate manslaughter, and then get solid energy to buy the remains, c) to win elections by lying and promising to get the bodies out but renege once they won, d) to have not insisted on a rescue attempt as soon as it happened. e) to further deregulate so that other workers are left in similar positions – if you work in a dangerous job, you should have a right in this country that rules and regulations about safety are adhered too and that relates to the actual structure of the workplace such as exits and entries, working detectors and so forth. Not have nothing, and appoint a ‘health and safety’ inspector to be the fall guy when everything is non compliant, which is the NZ way.
but they will take there profits and off load the risks to workers and society
I was one of the people surveyed (by landline) for the NewsHub poll released at the weekend. They announced themselves as conducting a survey for NewsHub/TV3.
To my surprise a number of non-political questions were asked, about housing and water quality, and also “Did I think that we should enter Pike River mine?” or words to that effect.
Wondering whether this was a TV station seeking which stories to pursue, or a political party sounding out public opinion, I replied that the mine entry was a decision that should be made by experts, not by the general public. They didn’t have a category for that answer, so put me down as a Don’t Know.