Police have located the remains of two, or even possibly three, miners at Pike River Mine during the final stages of the second borehole drilling programme.
In a statement, Detective Superintendent Darryl Sweeney said the human remains were found in the crib room area, but said police were not able to determine who the men might be.
"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."
Det Supt Sweeney said police also located one of the two missing drift runners, the vehicles used to transport miners and material underground, in the same area as the human remains.
The families of all 29 miners were notified of the discovery on Wednesday, and on Friday police made the information public.
"We recognise this process is extremely difficult for the families and we are committed to keeping them up to date on our investigation into the first explosion at the mine in November 2010."
Det Supt Sweeney said now the borehole programme is completed, police are "focusing on other aspects of the investigation"
"This includes working through witness statements and re-interviewing some of those involved."
All equipment was removed from the remote West Coast site last week, with all 10 boreholes having now been drilled, imaged, and resealed.
A blessing was held on Monday following the programme and the discovery of human remains.
On Friday, Det Supt Sweeney thanked all those who worked on the borehole programme.
"This was an extremely unique and complex task that required everyone involved to constantly adapt and innovate," he said
"Much of the equipment was custom-built or modified to overcome the challenges of working in a dark, volatile environment that's otherwise inaccessible."
Det Supt Sweeney said the quality of the pictures captured during the drilling are "world-class" and "a testament to the hard work of many police staff and external experts.
"I'm grateful for their knowledge, skills, and experience."
A total of 18 boreholes have been drilled and 20 imaged as part of the programme.
The remains of up to 12 of the 29 miners have been located.
