Press/Media Releases
Project Acronym: DSEIS | State: Completed | Expedition ID: 5063
Journey to the Center of the Earth: The Search for Dark Oxygen
2024-December
Emil Ruff (Chicago Univ.), who found the ICDP DSeis site in Moab Khotsong mine invaluable, visited to sample hypersaline brine from Hole A of DSeis project.
South African Embassy Minister Visits Ritsumeikan
2022-July
Ritsumeikan University News: The South African Embassy Minister visits Ritsumeikan University, exchanging views on the possibility of strengthening cooperation between Ritsumeikan and the Republic of South Africa.
Looking for life on Mars — at the bottom of a gold mine
2020-July
CBS News: Deep in the South African gold mines that line the Vaal River basin, an international team of scientists, including Belgian biologist Gaetan Borgonie, are looking for what they call extreme life — life where no one believed it could exist.
Moab Khotsong is not just a gold mine anymore
2020-February
CBS 60 Minutes: Moab Khotsong is not just a gold mine anymore. Way, way down—five World Trade Centers down—the mine is now a scientific field of study where biologists are making new discoveries.
Miners in Moab Khotsong take the longest elevator ride on earth
2020-February
CBS 60 Minutes: Miners in Moab Khotsong take the longest elevator ride on earth, plunging 450 stories, before walking miles through dimly lit tunnels to reach gold.
60 Minutes Gold Mine Promo 1
2019-August
CBS 60 Minutes: Moab Khotsong is not just a gold mine anymore. Way, way down—five World Trade Centers down—the mine is now a scientific field of study where biologists are making new discoveries.
The Thrill to Drill
2019-August
ICDP's public relations magazine “Thrill to Drill” featured the successful drilling of the DSeis project at the Moab Khotsong mine and the anticipated results in seismology and geomicrobiology.
At the Gate to the Underworld - in German
2019-September
The German science magazine GEO visited Moab Khotsong mine while the ICDP drilling was going on. It is a illustrated article that documents the drilling, core curation, and geomicrobiological sampling.
The Reason Earthquake Researchers Dig Deep into Gold Mines - in Japanese
2019-June
Japanese popular science books, Kodansha Bluebacks, introduced the above Ritsumeikan University press release.
The World’s first direct Observation of a Hypocenter: Uncovering the Mechanisms of Earthquake Generation
2019-April
Ritsumeikan University announced that the full-core drilling of a total of 1.6 km long from 2.9 km depth for the ICDP DSeis project has been successfully completed.
60 Minutes visits a South African mine
2018-November
CBS 60 Minutes: What’s it like to drop several miles below the earth in a tiny little elevator? Bill Whitaker reports from South Africa where miners search for gold, and scientists hunt for new forms of extreme life.
What lies at the bottom of one of the deepest holes ever dug by man?
2018-November
A U.S. CBS crew visited the Moab Khotsong Mine. The research activities of TC Onstott and his geomicrobiology team at Moab Khotsong Mine were extensively documented on the popular TVprogram “60 Minutes”.
Deep in a South African gold mine, scientists drill for the heart of an earthquake
2017-May
AAAS Science news: Shaft gives a 3-kilometer head start to drillers seeking the aftermath of a "fresh" rupture.
CGS announces kick-off for DSEIS
2017-February
Council for Geoscience (CGS), South Africa web: announced that CGS CEO, Mr Mabuza, representing South African DSeis members, signed the collaborative agreement with the ICDP to kick off the project.