Pike River Coal Ltd did not have a proper understanding of the geology of its coal mine, a leading geologist told the Royal Commission into the Pike River tragedy today.
The commission is inquiring into the disaster at the West Coast coal mine, in which 29 men died last November.
Jane Newman, a geologist and director of Newman Energy Research with more than 31 years experience in the Pike River area, told the commission that after 2006 Pike River Coal Ltd employed overseas geologists.
They would not have had a proper knowledge of the unique and complex geology on the West Coast.
Her concerns led to her telling her husband, also a geologist, not to enter the mine in 2010.
"My feeling at that stage was that things were converging on a situation I wasn't happy about," Dr Newman said.
Independent technical reviews included in a Pike River Coal Ltd prospectus were written by people unfamiliar with West Coast geology, she said.
"They were written by people familiar with the coal mining geology in Australia."
Using a three dimension model of the coal seam she explained how drilling carried out by the company could have meant the company failed to uncover the presence of sandstone in the coal seam.
"In-seam drilling is not well designed for identifying this, especially if you are not aware of stratographic complexity, and I am not confident that the company was aware of this," she said.
She had provided Pike River Coal Ltd with informal assistance during the 2000s prior to 2009 but stopped because she felt as though she was "endorsing" an "inadequate approach" to the geology of the mine.
Former chief inspector of coal mines Robin Hughes and Harry Bell were expected to give evidence to the commission today, comparing the current mine inspectorate system with the system before 1992, when there was an independent mine inspectorate.
Ms Newman was giving evidence on the third day of the inquiry following the deaths of 29 men at the mine on November 19.
