All 34 workers who were trapped underground at Nutrien's Cory potash mine are safe and on the surface.

William Tigley, a spokesperson for the potash company, said via email Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. CST that the company was in the process of bringing employees to the surface.

All of the workers were brought up at around 6 p.m. with the use of an additional elevator that was installed to bring the workers above ground.

Employees became trapped underground Tuesday afternoon when the service shaft, which moves employees and equipment up and down, stopped working.

Tigley said earlier Wednesday that the company was making arrangements to bring the workers back to the surface using the operating shaft, which normally carries potash.

Tigley said while the employees were underground, they were all safe and had access to enough air, water and food.

The mine is not currently producing potash and was undergoing maintenance when the shaft failure occurred.

Darrin Kruger, staff representative with the United Steelworkers in Saskatoon, said although it is not common, it's one of the dangers of the job.

"Any miner who goes underground, this is an inherent risk," said Kruger. "It's a confined space, and when you go down, something could happen and you don't know when you're getting out."

All of the employees are said to be in good health.

Nutrien will now conduct an internal investigation to determine why the shaft stopped working.