Officials are closing in on the target site for an underground lab in Lead.  The dewatering process started at the old Homestake Mine just under a year ago, and now water levels only need to drop a few feet before construction on the Sanford Lab can begin.  That milestone will mark the homestretch to bring international experiments to Homestake.

After battling a historically wet winter that pumped water into the Old Homestake Mine more quickly than crews could pump it out, officials in Lead can finally see the light at the end of the mine shaft. Water is currently sitting just a few feet from the sill of the 4,850 foot level, which will host the Sanford Underground Laboratory.

"My excitement grows every day as we start picking up momentum and we keep saying, 'One of these days, we're really going to get busy' and we're going at a huge pace right now," Director of Operations Greg King said.

King says clearing way for the Sanford Lab is the first step toward making Lead home to one of the world's only deep underground science and engineering laboratories. The DUSEL will host experiments as far down as 8,000 feet below the surface of the earth and attract researchers from around the globe.

"The 4850 is a real milestone for us, to reach that. A lot of the work and the preparation for the deeper DUSEL is a lot of the interim laboratories that are going to be built on the 4,850. This summer really brings in the construction phase. By mid-July, we'll be starting into the construction phase and from there that's a huge part," King said.

Until then, water will continue to be pumped out of the mine and workers will inspect each shaft level to ensure the safety of those already doing research underground.

"There are some science experiments operating now on some of the upper levels and so some of the preparation as we re-entered and as we dewatered is making sure the infrastructure is solid, it's in good condition," King said.

"Even just on one of the levels, the 2,000 level, we have 6 or 7 groups right now. Looking at the 2,000 level on our map, there's almost more dots for science than there are drifts so it's really exciting," Science Liason Director Jaret Heise said.

Heise is responsible for coordinating scientists who wish to work underground at Homestake. He says as water levels continue to drop, interest in the lab increases.

"All over the mine spanning many depths. Different groups looking at different things. We have other areas of interest on the 4,850; it'll be a very busy place," Heise said.

Heise says the work that's being done underground now will pale in comparison to what we'll see once the Sanford Lab is in place. Two major international experiments are slated to begin when construction is complete.

"There's definitely international interest. These types of mine sites are pretty rare, and the fact that we don't have to share this with an ongoing mining operation is really a big deal," Heise said.

A big deal for the world of science, and an even bigger deal for South Dakota.

An average of 2.8 million gallons of water is being pumped out of the mine each day. It's slowed considerably because the 4,850 foot level has miles of mine shafts to be cleared, much more than the levels that have already been drained.