Top News
Crew prepares to re-enter mine after four years
del.icio.us
Digg
NewsVine
FarkIn the next week or so, technicians will re-enter the Homestake gold mine in Lead through the Ross Shaft, which drops 5,000 feet straight down into the mine.
The crew will be the first humans in the mine since it was sealed shut four years ago.
"They'll work their way down slowly," said Dave Snyder, executive director of the South Dakota Science and Technology Authority.
The re-entry will be a major step toward converting the gold mine into a national underground laboratory, and it follows an even bigger step. Tuesday the National Science Foundation chose Homestake as site for a proposed national underground laboratory.
The battle to convert Homestake into a national lab has been waged for seven years, in a cycle of successes and setbacks that have been maddening for lab supporters.
Now progress will come quicker.
The NSF decision comes with a grant of up to $15 million over the next three years. The scientists of the "Homestake collaboration," led by physicist Kevin Lesko of the University of California at Berkeley, will use the money to develop a detailed engineering and science plan for a deep lab 7,400 feet underground at Homestake. (Interior shafts already lead to the lower levels.)
Deep labs protect sensitive experiments from cosmic rays. At 7,400 feet, Homestake would be the world's deepest laboratory, but it will cost $300 million or more. A project that big will need approval from the National Science Board, the White House and Congress. That could take years.
So why does the pace remain frenetic at the science authority offices on the Homestake campus?
The South Dakota Science and Technology Authority, led by Snyder, will use $116.5 million the state already has committed to the project to reopen the mine, establish an "interim lab" 4,850 feet underground and pump out the water that has been slowly filling the mine for four years.
In general, the science authority will be the landlord of the lab (Homestake donated the mine to the state), and the University of California at Berkeley, with the Homestake collaboration, will handle the science.
"It's a much larger operation," Snyder said.
Snyder and Lesko also will be recruiting experiments to the interim lab at 4,850 feet. That will require insurance, contracts and a schedule of fees or rents.
"That's a huge deal," Snyder said.
Most important, the science authority and Berkeley will have to work closely with the NSF to correctly develop the plan for the deep lab.
"That's critical right now," Snyder said. "It's going to be quite intense."
Then there's the small matter of re-entering a mine that has been closed since 2003.
The science authority has hired the Dynatec Corp. for the re-entry. The Canadian company specializes in mining projects.
Dynatec will inspect the Ross Shaft inch by inch, then restore electrical power so pumps can begin removing the water that has been slowly filling the mine for four years.
Homestake is 8,000 feet deep. The water has reached sensors 5,600 feet underground, but it has not reached 5,000 feet.
To keep the "4850 level" dry - a critical element in the South Dakota plan - the pumps must start by this fall.
That means Dynatec will have a couple dozen people on staff by the end of the year.
Snyder said he'd have to "ramp up" the science authority staff, too.
The numbers are all estimates right now, Snyder said, but it's possible that, by the end of the year, more than 50 people could be working at the Homestake lab.
Which brings us to the lab's name. The NSF has been calling the project the Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory, or DUSEL (DOO-suhl).
However, $70 million of the $116.5 million South Dakota has on hand for the lab is a donation from Sioux Falls philanthropist T. Denny Sanford. So now it's the Sanford Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory at Homestake - or SUSEL (SOO-suhl). DUSEL or SU-SEL, the mood in Lawrence County has been significantly elevated since Tuesday.
The short-term development jobs could grow as the interim lab gets customers. A deep lab could provide an even bigger boost.
The governor said Tuesday that national labs typically add $300 million to $1 billion a year to local economies. A SUSEL at Homestake might not grow that big, but a fraction of that would make a huge impact on a former mining town that was getting used to losing its biggest employer.
State Rep. Charles Turbiville, R-Deadwood, said he hoped construction on the interim lab could provide jobs for former Homestake gold miners "almost immediately."
In addition, a visitors center and education programs could attract students, teachers and researchers.
Part of Sanford's donation will go toward converting a cavernous machine shop into an education center.
"This is going to be even bigger than HBO's 'Deadwood,'" Turbiville said. "HBO gave us great coverage for four years. The lab will be sustainable."
Contact Bill Harlan at 394-8424 or at bill.harlan@rapidcityjournal.com
The opinions above are from readers of rapidcityjournal.com and in no way represent the views of the Rapid City Journal or Lee Enterprises.
Rapidcityjournal.com provides this community forum for readers to exchange ideas and opinions on the news of the day. Passionate views, pointed criticism and critical thinking are welcome. Name-calling, crude language and personal abuse are not welcome. Moderators will monitor comments with an eye toward maintaining a high level of civility in this forum. Our comment policy explains the rules of the road for registered commenters.
If you don't see your comment, perhaps...
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy