Lawyers for the Pike River families say they are making good progress on having the recovery of bodies made a condition of the West Coast mine's sale.
Fears have been raised that the push to recover the remains of the 29 men killed in explosions last year will end when a new operator takes over as early as August.
Solicitor Nicholas Davidson QC says his team has been talking to the Pike River company's receivers PricewaterhouseCoopers and it appears likely the re-entry plan of sealing the mine in stages will be included in negotiations to sell the mine.
Mr Davidson says, however, that discussions have only just begun about guaranteeing the recovery of the men's bodies.
