Last week the police caved in to numerous requests and released a breakdown of the police expenditures incurred to date since the first explosion in November.

The GAG inertisation unit from Queensland consumed $1.22 million of fuel, which was priced at subsidised rates.

But as it operated on a 24-7 basis right through the Christmas and New Year holiday period, personnel costs racked up to $2.47 million.

The GAG’s engine and support equipment costs reached $967,964.

The modified jet engine was fired up on December 1 and operated until around mid-January.

The next highest cost entry was the $895,189 incurred for engineering and equipment purchases and hireage.

The Pike River mine is located in very difficult terrain and helicopter costs accounted for $846,623.

The use of the tunnel inspection vehicle provided by Western Australia’s Water Corporation cost $142,834.

This remote-operated vehicle became stuck in a ditch about 1600 metres in the access drift of the mine last month, with its recovery not considered a priority.

Air Liquide’s Floxal inertisation unit arrived in New Zealand about a week before Christmas, and later became the main inertisation technology used at the mine.

The transport of the Floxal cost $134,192, while its hire cost $158,380.

The effectiveness of the inertisation efforts could have been compromised by a roof fall which blocked off areas further into the mine, and mine stabilisation crews are investigating this possibility.

The police have received invoices from at least 232 suppliers from search, rescue and recovery operations at the mine.

The total bill to third parties was $10.92 million. Staff allowances to police officers on rotation at Greymouth came to $296,488, putting the total cost beyond $11 million.

The police handed over control of the mine to Pike River Coal’s receiver, PricewaterhouseCoopers, on March 9.

The complete breakdown of expenditure can be downloaded by clicking on the PDF document to the right under related links and downloads.