Gold explorer Doray Minerals has been forced to evacuate 11 miners after a fire broke out at a mine in Western Australia.

An underground loader apparently caught fire just after midnight in the company’s Deflector mine in the town of Yalgoo about 200km east of Geraldton.

There were no injuries.

“While the extent of the fire is still being investigated, the company can confirm that all underground workers are safe, uninjured and have returned to the above-ground Deflector site office,” the company said in a statement.

“Throughout the incident, the company’s priority was ensuring the safety and well-being of all underground workers.

“In line with the company’s standard safety procedure, at the time of the fire 11 underground workers moved to their closest emergency refuge chamber before being escorted out of the mine by the site emergency response team.”

The mine has been shut down while investigations take place.

A Doray spokesperson said the company did not yet know how long the mine would be closed.

The company had no further comment, he said.

Shares in the gold and copper producer have risen more than 50 per cent this year.

In June, Doray announced extremely high grades of gold and copper at the mine.

Drilling had exposed a lode that hosted “bonanza” grades as high as 299 grams per tonne (g/t) gold and 10.5 per cent copper, Doray said at the time.

Grades above 5g/t gold and 1.5 per cent copper are generally considered high grade.

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