Detective Superintendent Darryl Sweeney said recent imaging from borehole drilling showed the remains of two or possibly three miners in the crib room area, although police were not able to identify them.
"Previously, police have been able to narrow down the possibilities based on information about where the miners were working prior to the first explosion.
"Unfortunately, in this case, we're not able to do that."
The remain of up to 12 people have now been found.
"They may even be my boy," said Rowdy Durbridge, whose son Dan died in the explosion, when he learned of the discovery.
"The remains that have been seen are the fellas I worked with ... everyone knows 29 men died in that sh*thole of a mine but to know they have been seen is somehow different."
Durbridge said the recovery of images from inside the mine had been been haunting, but he felt reassured by the evidence showing the miners died quickly.
"I can take some heart in the fact that what's been seen confirms they fell where they stood and didn't spend days trapped in there alive like some people have tried to claim."
Anna Osborne, who lost her husband Milton in the mine, said the re-entry of Pike River and the subsequent investigation had returned some honour to New Zealand
"The effort that this government and now the police have put into getting back into Pike, and then investigating the trove of evidence that has produced, has gone a long way to putting right some of the injustices and lies Pike families have faced since that awful day in 2010."
Sweeney said the process had been extremely difficult for the families of the miners.
He said the the final boreholes had been drilled and the investigation would continue into what caused the mine explosion.
The Pike River Family Reference Group, which represents the majority of Pike River families, said the end of evidence gathering at Pike River Mine was another step towards justice.
Osborne said she was hopeful the police investigation would end in a prosecution.
"In my heart of hearts I believe it will be. I am confident it will end in accountability for those responsible."
Police announced in September 2022 they were reopening the borehole drilling operation as part of the criminal investigation into the explosion. Work began on 10 additional boreholes in late January.
In May, police said possible human remains had been identified from images inside the mine.
All 10 boreholes have now been drilled, imaged, and resealed, police said.
