LEAD - Crews preparing to convert the former Homestake gold mine into a scientific laboratory have found no major problems at the 4,850-foot level where the first experiments would take place, a Sanford Lab official said.

A year of continuous pumping has lowered the water level in the underground mine well below the 4,850-foot level.

Tom Regan, operations safety officer for the Lab, told the Lead City Commission that the re-entry process is going smoothly.

"We have 94 employees now, and approximately 85 percent are full time employees," Regan said.

Crews have made assessments of what work will need to be done at 4,850 feet.

"There has been a considerable amount of cleanup, risk assessment and inspections," he said. "Crews have inspected the level to the Yates Shaft and to the No. 4 Winz, which is basically underneath Grizzly Gulch. There are really no surprises. Everything we found we can handle."

Later this year scientists with the Large Underground Xenon project will begin to install their experiment in an old shop building on the site, making final preparations before disassembling the dark matter detector to place it on the 4,850-foot level.

The South Dakota Science and Technology Authority is reopening Homestake to the 4,850-foot level. The National Science Foundation is considering a proposal to make Homestake a national underground laboratory down to the 8,000 foot level.

The receding water level inside the mine is nearing the 5,000-foot level.

The latest report, issued last week, said the water level was at 4,970 feet underground, down 21 feet from the previous week.

Officials have said another set of large pumps will be installed at the 5,000-foot level once it is dry, further speeding the de-watering of Homestake.