SIRIUS Minerals marked another major milestone in the development of its £3.5bn polyhalite mine near Whitby with the unveiling of its new Vertical Shaft Sinking Machine.

The machine will hollow out a 360m deep shaft that will allow the company to construct a 23-mile tunnel that will transport mined ore to Teesside.

Children from nearby Sleights Primary School, which won a competition to name the machine, unveiled a plaque bearing its new moniker ‘Bessy’.

The naming tradition dates back to the 1500s when miners prayed to Saint Barbara to protect them from the dangers underground.

Chris Fraser, CEO of Sirius Minerals, said: “Using this innovative cutting edge machine is proof of our determination to use the best, most effective engineering solutions to build this mine.

“It’s great that we could get the school kids involved too.

“Making a positive impact in the community is hugely important to us and we hope this project will inspire them to become the engineers and miners of the future.”

The 75 tonne machine will be used to excavate the first 120m of an access shaft for the mineral transport system.

Once the shaft is complete, a tunnel boring machine will be lowered into the shaft.