Milestone celebrated in bid to turn South Dakota goldmine into scientific hub

Ceremony marks completion of caverns for neutrino research

The entry way off of the elevator on the 4850-level of the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF). (Austin Goss/The Dakota Scout)

LEAD — Sometime in 2031, the Sanford Underground Research Facility in the Black Hills is expected to complete its transformation from goldmine to neutrino mine.

However, it was the efforts of policymakers in Pierre, three decades earlier, that paved the way for South Dakota to host the world’s premier underground laboratory.

Called the SURF for short, the facility was known as the Homestake Mine from 1876 until the 21st century, one of the most productive gold mines in the United States.

RELATED: Blast to the future: Subterranean lab digs further into Black Hills, particle physics