Rockhouse was the father of Ben, who died in the mine. Another son, Daniel, survived.
In a radio interview with Newstalk ZB Rockhouse provided insights into the technical and financial challenges at the mine and commented on the chances that some of the missing miners could have survived the first blast.
On the mine stabilisation plan run by the coal company’s receiver Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Rockhouse said the underground atmosphere was “pretty inert” as it consisted of 96-97% nitrogen.
But he said there were ongoing issues with oxygen leaking into the mine from the “hastily built” seal at the portal.
He would like to see this seal replaced with one based on “proper steel double doors” and supports a plan to place another seal 200 metres into the mine.
Discussing concept plans and alternatives, Rockhouse said it was possible to drill a couple of boreholes “behind the fall”, a further indication that a roof fall has taken place at some stage and could be blocking off areas deeper into the mine.
Rockhouse believes that despite the technical challenges the main cause of setbacks at the mine has been financial difficulties.
Estimating that executing the mine stabilisation plan and recovering the bodies could only cost $10 million while the coal resources were worth $5 billion, Rockhouse called for all stakeholders to “get together”.
He said such a meeting, which would include New Zealand Oil and Gas, Gujarat NRE Coking Coal, Bank of New Zealand and Prime Minister John Key, could help iron out a plan to achieve the shared goals without significant cost to taxpayers.
On Friday Rockhouse was saying goodbye to the mine and “the rest of the boys” when he found an equipment box sticking out of wreckage which was shot out of the portal from the various blasts.
He loaded it onto a truck and sent it over to the police for further analysis.
The opened box that was captured from a camera down a borehole in February was suspected of containing fire fighting equipment.
But Rockhouse has seen a scan from a cal-scan laser device of the box and to him it “looks like a self-rescuer cache”
He said the lid could have been blown off in a blast or someone could have left it off.
“If someone has opened that box, that calls into question the Coroner’s findings of acute hypoxia,” Rockhouse told the radio program.
In late January, chief coroner Judge Neil MacLean found that all the 29 men missing in the Pike River disaster died within minutes of the first explosion at the mine.
Hopes of finding more survivors from the mine ended after the second underground explosion on November 24.
Damage from subsequent methane explosions and a fire underground further complicated recovery work.
Pricewaterhouse Coopers is running a sales process for the Pike assets, and dominant New Zealand coal producer Solid Energy has already promised to pay off Pike’s debts owed to contractor companies if its bid is successful.
