The complicated process of preparing an insurance claim had started for Pike River Coal and it would be lodged soon, chairman John Dow said yesterday.
"Much of this will require a damage assessment, which we are not able to do until we can get back underground."
Pike had material damage and business interruption insurance cover totalling $100 million.
The nature of the cover involved various sub-limits and stand-down periods which were common to such policies issued by international insurers, he said.
Recovery of the the bodies of the 29 men who died in the Pike River mine remained the company's top priority.
However, the board also had to consider the company's wider situation.
Looking beyond the primary task of recovering the men's bodies, the board had discussed the company's commercial circumstances, Mr Dow said.
It was imperative the company be able to assess the level of damage to the mine as soon as possible in order to reach meaningful conclusions about the options available.
This would involve undertaking any repairs and rebuilding work and an assessment of the commercial feasibility of resuming operations.
"None of that work can happen until the recovery operation is successfully completed and we can go back underground safely.
Once we get back underground, Pike will be an advanced development project, given that all surface infrastructure remains intact, including surface facilities, pipelines, the coal preparation plant, roading and rail load-out facilities at Ikamatua," Mr Dow said.
Craigs Investment Partners broker Peter McIntyre said yesterday Pike would also need to talk to its lenders, NZ Oil and Gas (NZOG) and the BNZ, which had recently made provisions for a 90-day standstill period.
That meant neither party could default on payments or review economic circumstances.
Effectively, Pike had 90 days to work out its next step.
NZOG had a very strong cash balance sheet and was likely to be "friendly" towards Pike if the board decided it wanted to reopen the mine.
But that was still dependent on how much damage was caused by the explosions, he said.
The trading halt on Pike shares was expected to be lifted soon and the share price would be hit hard, falling well below the 88c it was trading at before the tragedy.
NZOG's share price contained a nil value on its Pike shareholding as the market tried to work out how much damage the explosions had caused.
"If the seam is burning, it could be months before it is extinguished but there seems to be some willing that the mine needs to restart operations.
"The longer there is a delay, the more impact it will have on Pike's viability."
Mr McIntyre said mining was an industry fraught with danger.
The soaring price of commodities, driven by Asia, meant companies were mining in areas where such activities were inconceivable 20 or 30 years ago.
"With the new sites ... and with no experience in these sorts of areas, there are bound to be mistakes in the future."
