4850 Level Dedication - June 22, 2009

On Monday, June 22, 2009, Gov. Mike Rounds and Mr. T. Denny Sanford dedicated the Sanford Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory at Homestake during an unusual ceremony 4,850 feet underground in a former gold mine.

The ceremony was in a large tunnel -- 14 feet wide by 14 feet tall -- that connects the Ross and Yates shafts on the 4,850-foot level of Homestake. The guests wore hardhats and mine lamps, but the tunnel (a "drift" in mine parlance) was lit, the temperature was 70 degrees and there was a steady breeze thanks to a large exhaust fan on the surface.

The "ribbon cutting" was done in the style of hard-rock mining. Former Homestake gold miners Bill Heisinger and Alvin Burns used a traditional "jackleg" drill to punch holes into the wall of a tunnel. Then Gov. Rounds and Mr. Sanford lifted into place a plaque dedicating the Sanford Underground Laboratory at Homestake.

Category:

Science & Technology

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• Dedication
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