The Minister in charge of Pike River won't consider going further into the mine - a decision that's been accepted "with heartbreak" by families involved.
In a statement on Tuesday morning, the Pike River Family Reference Group said it now accepts official advice going further into the mine would be unsafe and expensive.
Twenty-nine men lost their lives in the explosion in 2010, with the search for their remains the centre of an ongoing political battle.
Reference group spokesperson Sonya Rockhouse, who lost her son Ben in the 2010 tragedy, told The AM Show on Tuesday families have reflected on the decision.
"It's just one of those things; how long do you go on? How long do you keep this going and how much money is it going to cost?
"There has to come a point where you just have to stop."
Her comments come after Pike River Minister Andrew Little met with the family reference group on Monday night.
"Families accept, with heartbreak, Andrew Little's advice that there will be no more Government money to expand the project at this time," the group said in a statement. "Families welcome advice that police with support of the agency."
"In order to honour our men and leave a legacy, the families want the deaths of our men to continue to make New Zealanders safer. We will work with the Public Service Commission and other agencies to further this goal."
However, the group also noted the police will continue to drill boreholes with hopes of uncovering important evidence.
"Families remain hopeful that ongoing police investigation will continue to uncover important evidence, and if this happens, and further work would help achieve truth and justice, we will push further for it," the reference group said.
"The families wish to acknowledge the ongoing support of the people of New Zealand and the international community."
Little said the Government had delivered on its promise to safely recover the mine drift, which is now being forensically examined.
"The minister regularly engages with the families and provided no new information to them at last night's meeting," Little's office said in a statement on Tuesday.
