Construction of a temporary air lock has been completed at the Pike River coal mine on the West Coast.
The work is needed to get further into the mine to look for the remains of 29 men who died in explosions which began on 19 November last year.
The mine's statutory manager says work to build the temporary seal 170 metres into the mine was completed on Sunday afternoon.
Steve Ellis says it is a tremendous accomplishment and monitoring work since the weekend shows the seal is already proving its worth.
