We took a day off from off-roading to visit the town of Lead, SD. It is pronounced" Leed", by the way. Lead is the homoe of the Homestake Mine, on of the most productive gold and silver mines in the world. The mine was originally a traditional shaft and drift mine that by the time it was first closed covered about four square miles and reached a depth of nearly eight thousand feet. It became too costly to operate given the cost of gold at the time. There are 370 miles of tunnels referred to as drifts. In the photo below of the pit you can see where the pit intersected several of the tunnels. Click on it to enlarge the picture. The Homestake Mine is the source of the wealth inherited by publisher William Randolf Hearst. His parents developed the mine.
In the 1970s the mine reopened as a surface mine that operated until 2001. In all, forty-one million ounces of gold and nine million ounces of silver were recovered.
The mine is now the site of physics experiments seeking to unlock the mysteries of dark matter. Sanford Labs is developing the site at the 4850' level and plans to exchange atomic particles with the Fermi Lab in the Chicago area hundreds of miles away through the earths crust. The details are over my head, but it sure looks impressive to me.
If you are out this way, visit Lead and the mining museum there.
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| The now closed open pit of the Homestake Mine. |
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| The town of lead has retained many of its old buildings. |
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