Pike River Coal chief executive Peter Whittall vows to fight the charges he is facing in court in relation to the disaster at the mine where 29 men were killed on 19 November last year.
Mr Whittall along with his company and Valley Longwall International Drilling of Sydney, face a total of 25 charges laid by the Labour Department on Thursday.
Mr Whittall faces 12 charges over health and safety failures at the mine.
In a statement through his lawyers, Mr Whittall maintains he would never do anything to put men at risk and will vigourously defend himself in court.
The lawyers say the charges relate to operations at the mine on or about the time of the first explosion, when Mr Whittall was based in Wellington handling corporate matters.