A government minister yesterday went 1,100 metres underground to open a refurbished laboratory.

The Boulby Underground Laboratory, Cleveland, is dedicated to searching for evidence of dark matter, which scientists believe may make up at least 90pc of the universe.

A £3.1m grant from the Department of Trade and Industry has paid for a new building on the surface and new underground facilities.

Scientists say the depth is needed to shield experiments from cosmic rays and the surrounding rock has low radioactivity.

Science Minister Lord Sainsbury yesterday visited the lab to mark its reopening.

He said: "The first detection of dark matter would be a wonderful coup for Boulby and I wish the scientists here every success. The forthcoming years promise to be an exciting time for those searching for dark matter and I am very pleased that the world-beating facilities we now have at Boulby will allow our British team to remain at the forefront of this research."

Dark matter experiments have been carried out at the working salt and potash mine for the last 12 years.

The laboratory is a collaboration of researchers from the universities of Sheffield, Edinburgh, Imperial College and the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory.