Contractors who worked for the Pike River Coal company are to vote on an offer for early payouts on debts owed by the mining company.
The mining company was put into receivership in December last year - about a month after 29 men were killed in explosions at the company's West Coast mine.
At the time, the company had insurance worth $100 million , and its insurers have now agreed a full and final settlement of $80 million.
The mine's major shareholder, New Zealand Oil and Gas, is a first ranking creditor and has priority over the money, but has agreed that a maximum of $10.5 million of its share will be used for a voluntary early payment to unsecured creditors.
Unsecured creditors will be paid the first $10,000 of their claim then 20 cents in the dollar for any amount above that, up to a cap of $10.5 million.
In return, creditors would agree not to seek to liquidate the company.
The Chairman of the Pike River Contractors and Suppliers Group, Peter Haddock, says the vote could take place within days, and he expects the offer will be accepted.
However George Colligan, who operated an excavator at the mine, says the offer is not good enough.
Mr Colligan says he is owed $70,000, is about to sell his one asset, his excavator, and is now working overseas.
"If we don't get the whole lot I think we should liquidate them. They should pay us in full.
"If it wasn't for us contractors here on the Coast, that mine would never even have got to the stage that it got to - which thinking now (I) wished it didn't."
Grey District mayor Kokshoorn says New Zealand Oil and Gas was not legally required to pay up, but as a big company it had an ethical and moral obligation to ensure "a lot of these small people were paid out".
NZOG confident of full debt recovery
Meanwhile, New Zealand Oil and Gas chief executive says he is confident the company will be repaid the money it's owed in full.
Chief executive David Salisbury says that if unsecured creditors vote in favour of the payment plan, which includes the moratorium on pursuing liquidation, the sales process will not be interupted and all creditors are likely to be paid.
Mr Salisbury says the impact of the proposed payout is worth a little over 10 cents per share to the NZOG shareholders.
In its latest update, in August, receivers PricewaterhouseCoopers said unsecured creditors were owed a total of $34.2 million.
The offer should mean 243 creditors will be paid in full and 222 will receive a part payment. They will still be entitled to claim for the remaining balance once the mine is sold.
