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Turner said that as soon as the employees were safely out of the mine, inspections commenced right away.

He said the inspection process would span the entire site, also examining whether any surface-level operations have been impacted.

As the nine workers emerged from the underground mine, there didn’t appear to be any immediate damage from what could be seen.

Turner emphasised the importance of ensuring the site had been fully inspected before operations could resume.

The earthquake struck at 9:15am AEST Wednesday morning, occurring 10 kilometres beneath the surface at a magnitude of 5.9, according to Geoscience Australia.

It is understood the tremor was felt across Victoria, in Canberra and in parts of New South Wales.

Contacted today, a spokesperson for the Minerals Council of Australia reaffirmed the report of no damage or injuries at Victorian mines in the wake of the earthquake.

Another mine in the area is the A1 mine about 23 kilometres south-east of Jamieson.

Operated by Kaiser Reef, the company reported no injuries at its mine after the successful evacuation of 11 underground workers at the site.

“We are very pleased to report no injuries and no immediately identified damage to the mine or its associated infrastructure,” the company stated.

“Kaiser has established emergency response protocols which management are following.

“A detail inspection plan for site and underground is being planned and, at this stage, there does not appear to be a significant operational impact.”