Police say they may have found more human remains in the vicinity of one of the boreholes at Pike River Mine.
In a statement on Friday, police said they have drilled and imaged three more boreholes, all of which have resulted in images useful to the ongoing criminal investigation.
Borehole six is in an area where men were known to be building a stopping wall when the mine first exploded back on November 19, 2010.
Some of the images captured from that borehole indicate the possibility of human remains but two pathologists who have seen the pictures were unable to determine whether they definitively showed human remains.
Police confirmed they have spoken to the families of the three men believed to have been working in the area.
Detective Superintendent Darryl Sweeney said police are committed to keeping the miners' families informed with updates on a regular basis.
"We recognise this is an incredibly difficult process for the families of the 29 men killed at Pike River," Sweeney said.
"While we can't say with any certainty that we've located human remains, we have shared what we've found as well as the pathologists' conclusions.
"Our thoughts are with the families as they process this news."
Work began on 10 additional boreholes in late January this year. The final three holes will be drilled in the coming weeks, concluding the police investigation at the mine.
Families of the victims of Pike River told Newshub they are hopeful there will be criminal prosecutions.
When Newshub asked Sweeney if he foresees arrests as part of the investigation he replied: "We are in a criminal investigation so we're assessing of course people, individuals and just how the mine ran."
