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search facility. All told, the site has cost more than $300 million -- a mix of private donations and state and federal funding. Daily operation costs are covered by the U.S. Department of Energy.
• About 70 former mine workers now work for the lab. Greg King, a lifelong Lead resident, is one of them.
• "The whole town was built up around the Homestake," King said. "As the property closed and people left, a lot of employees left. Now, there's a lot of excitement in town. People are very thrilled that the Homestake is once again, albeit not as a

mine."
• Liz Tiger, who owns a consignment store on Main Street, said the resurrection of the mine represents hope for Lead, a town of about 3,100 residents about a half-hour from the Wyoming border. Three generations of Tiger's family worked for the mining company.
• "The economy up here really died after Homestake shut down," she said. "It was absolutely devastating."
• Had it not been for Deadwood, Lead's higher-profile neighbor that draws about 2 million tourists a year, the town might have gone under, she said.
• "I was raised through Homestake. I was very sad when it was shut down. (The mine) definitely needed to be used for something."
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