Unsuccessful searches have dogged the Terry Floyd disappearance case.

Police evacuated a Bet Bet property in 2003 after a tip-off that the 12-year-old’s remains were there.

But the search was fruitless.

Mr Floyd would study the 254-page police brief about his brother’s disappearance and continued to look for answers.

He had a breakthrough when new leads emerged in recent years, all of which independently lead to the old mine shaft at Bung Bong Hill.

The shaft, which is about 500 metres from where Terry was reportedly last seen on the Pyrenees Highway, has been independently verified by each of the sources.

The police contributed $50,000 to the excavation of what was believed was a 20-metre shaft.

The Department of Sustainability and Environment and mine’s leaseholder approved the excavation and preliminary work to prepare the shaft started in September 2010.

The excavation started the following month and stopped in March 2011 at the 52-metre mark.

Raw sewage, tree stumps and a kitchen stove were among the discoveries the miners have found.

The shaft drops vertically for about 40 metres before falling away on an incline of about 45 degrees.

Mr Floyd estimates it costs about $240 a day to pay for the excavation, $130 in diesel alone.

He stopped the search last May so he could reignite his fundraising and lobbying of potential financial backers – namely the state government and police.

But the two-month break became a 10-month hiatus.

The state government came to the rescue last December and offered $25,000 to help Mr Floyd look for his brother.

Deputy Premier Peter Ryan, in a letter to Mr Floyd, said he “respected and admired” the work he was doing.

However, he was adamant the funding was a once-off payment.

“Victoria Police advises that (it’s $50,000) assistance was provided as a measure of goodwill, and not because it considers there was evidence to support the contention that your brother’s body was placed in that particular location,” Mr Ryan said.

“With the greatest of respect to you, your deceased brother and your family, I feel obliged to indicate that this additional funding represents the full extent to which the government is able to assist in your very worthwhile initiative.”

Victoria Police continues to say the case remains open and will investigate any new information that comes to light.

Mr Floyd’s requests for further financial assistance have been rejected.

If he finds a bone, police investigators will take over the excavation and treat the area as a crime scene.

“I have spent a lot of my funds and all that doing this,” Mr Floyd said.

“(There) are numerous other things I would like to be doing, but this takes precedence for me.

“This has to be done, there is no other option, that has to be done.

“So financial savings and all that have been put to the search.”

Shaft reveals horse, shirt and jewellery

Fresh oxygen pumped into the mine ensures it smells like the bush surrounds.

The temperature remains constant throughout the shaft.

There are three landings – at the 20, 30 and 40 metres below – that provide space to move.

Mr Floyd compares the mine to a “leaky tap” that forces the miners to continually pump water out.

The miners use traditional tools to excavate the mine and work in tight surrounds as they dig.

“Everything down there is run by air,” Mr Floyd said.

“These (miners) are the real McCoy.”

The search hasn’t been short of interesting discoveries.

It is with a screwed-up face that Mr Johns recalls finding a horse.

“There are low levels of oxygen in the mine so it hadn’t completely decomposed,” he said.

“It was a big draft horse and it looked like they had shot it and let it fall into the shaft. There was still fat on the carcass and the smell was horrid.”

A former Avoca butcher has told Mr Floyd he used to offload cow carcasses into the mine between 1967 and 1979.

Estimates suggest up to 600 cow heads and more than 1000 pairs of front and back legs went into the mine between 1975 and 1979.

The miners are yet to discover a cow’s skull.

The most recent discoveries have been margarine containers with 1981 expiry dates.Mr Floyd believes the excavation has reached the late 1980s.

The miners discovered a necklace in November 2010.

Terry had worn a silver chain at the time of his disappearance.

Mr Floyd sent the necklace to forensic analysers but DNA testing proved inconclusive.

He also found a red Miller’s shirt that was among rubbish that dated back to the early 1980s.

Terry had a red and blue Miller’s shirt but Mr Floyd believed his brother went missing in a blue shirt.