South Dakota Governor's Office of Economic Development

NSF panel arrives to review Homestake site

By Lawrence County Journal staff
LEAD -- A team of scientists from the National Science Foundation is in Lead this weekend to assess the former Homestake Mine as a possible site for a national underground science lab.

The NSF team is visiting the Homestake facility and three other sites bidding for the national deep underground science and engineering laboratory. The lab would cost hundreds of millions of dollars to build and could attract billions of dollars worth of science experiments over the course of decades.
The NSF team has asked for a low-key visit with no public appearances, but Gov. Mike Rounds and other Homestake backers vowed to put their best foot forward for this weekend’s NSF visit, Rounds said Friday.

"We’re offering a rapid, safe entry into a proven mine location," Rounds said at a news conference Friday on the former Homestake Mine property.
Rounds, University of California-Berkeley scientist Kevin Lesko and South Dakota Science and Technology Authority director Dave Snyder met with media and other interested local entities at the Ross Hoist and introduced the former Homestake and current SDSTA work crew, which has accomplished cleanup and rehabilitation in the past months.
The mothballed equipment, including the hoist, is now ready to go back to work, Rounds said.

This weekend, the visiting NSF scientists will see the equipment and review the technical readiness and rehabilitation of the facilities from a scientific point of view. They will know that the SDSTA now has the resources to put an operation at the 4,850-foot level, Rounds said. The equipment is ready to go, he said.

State officials will also remind the visiting scientists that $10 million is immediately available; plus another $35 million to get to the 4,850-foot level. This is in addition to the promised $70 million from millionaire philanthropist Denny Sanford, if the Homestake Mine is chosen for the national underground lab.

Sanford has committed $50 million to going deeper into the mine, and $20 million is earmarked for a Sanford Science and Education Center to be used by students and scientists from South Dakota and around the world.

Rounds also said that Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., has secured a $10 million Housing and Urban Development grant to "de-water" the deep underground mine when needed.
There is no reason to do this now because the water is preserving the mine workings and equipment at those levels, Rounds said. To keep the 4,850-foot level pristine for the NSF Science Lab, water would be pumped out if, and when, it reaches the 5,000- to 5,300-foot levels.
Homestake lab promoters plan to travel to Washington, D.C., this spring to make a presentation to the full NSF selection panel.
NSF officials said the foundation likely will announce its selection in May or June.