LEAD -- Officials say crews pumping water out of the Sanford Underground Laboratory in Lead have reopened a second deep shaft.

The South Dakota Science and Technology Authority is pumping water out of the former Homestake gold mine and reopening it as an underground lab.

The authority says crews now have access to the 4,850-level after reopening the deep shaft known as the Yates Shaft. The project cost about $7 million.

The authority's executive director, Ron Wheeler, calls it a significant step.

One lab is being planned at the 4,850-foot level. A second is being proposed at 8,000 feet.