Lead, << leed, >> South Dakota (pop. 2,982), is the site of the Homestake mine, one of the largest gold mines in the United States. The mine operated from 1876 to 2001. In 2009, the Sanford Underground Laboratory (now the Sanford Underground Research Facility), an underground science and engineering laboratory, was dedicated at the former mine, which reaches a depth of 8,000 feet (2,400 meters). Scientists say that important experiments in physics and astrophysics can only be conducted in laboratories under thousands of feet or meters of rock.
The town of Lead stands in the Black Hills of western South Dakota. Lead was founded in 1876. It has a commission form of government.
See also Black Hills ; Gold rush ; South Dakota (Mining) .
