The Pike River mine site is being handed over to the Department of Conservation (DOC).
The move comes more than 12 years after the mining disaster claimed the lives of 29 men.
From 28th March, the land becomes part of the Paparoa National Park.
An informal gathering was held at the mine site last Friday where Minister Responsible for Pike River Re-entry Andrew Little presented DOC director-general Penny Nelson with a pounamu and yellow balloons were released for the 29 miners who lost their lives.
The Pike River Recovery Agency will be disestablished on 30 June.
The agency was formed in January 2018 to determine why the 29 men died in a series of explosions in November 2010 and to provide evidence for the police’s criminal investigation.
The outcome of the police investigation is expected later this year.
