The WASM Wombats had promised to celebrate their victory.

Two Curtin University students are reported to be recovering in hospital in New Orleans after being shot during a visit to the US.

Local media are reporting they were venturing into the West Bank area to buy drugs

The students, reportedly aged 21 and 23, competed in the Intercollegiate Mining Games as part of the victorious WA School of Mines Wombats team and had subsequently gone to New Orleans on a private holiday.

The Curtin students were in New Orleans when they were shot. Photo: iStock

The WA School of Mines is based at Curtin, with campuses in Kalgoorlie and Perth.

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 According to the New Orleans Advocate, the men  aged 21 and 23  had taken a taxi to the Algiers area, which is one of the city's oldest neighbourhoods, to meet with a drug dealer at about 4.15am on Wednesday. At some point during the meeting, one of the students was shot in the stomach while the other was shot in the chest. 

Algiers is across the Mississippi River from the rest of New Orleans and regarded as a tourist spot. 

In a note to staff,Curtin vice-chancellor Deborah Terry said both students were in hospital and were reported to be in a stable condition.

"Their families have been contacted and are arranging to travel to the US," Ms Terry said.

"The University is providing support and assistance to the injured students and their families.  Support is also being provided to the others in the group who were not in the vicinity of the shooting and are unharmed."

WASM director Sam Spearing was due to fly to New Orleans on Wednesday night.

The games were held in Butte, Montana, which describes itself as the "mining city".

The Kalgoorlie-based WA School of Mines took out top titles at the Montana event, with the Wombat A team dubbed the champions for the second straight year, while the Wombat B team was the runner-up.

In a post on the Butte Sports website, Wombats team captain Jake Rovacsek had spoken of the team's desire to let its hair down after the games, with stops in New Orleans, Cancun and Las Vegas."

"We'll celebrate this," Rovacsek said.

"We earned it."

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed in a statement it was assisting the shot students and their families but would not provide any more details:

"The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is providing consular assistance, in line with the Consular Services Charter, to two Australians and their families in relation to a shooting incident in the United States. Due to Privacy Act obligations we cannot provide further information about the incident at this time."