A worker was killed in an accident at Harmony Gold's Tshepong mine in Free State, the company said yesterday.

A worker was killed in an accident at Harmony Gold's Tshepong mine in Free State, the company said yesterday.

Harmony said the accident on Tuesday occurred underground and involved a chairlift.

The company's chief operating officer, south region, Tom Smith, said the chairlift rope conveyor - used to transport miners from one level to another - had been under maintenance when the accident happened.

"On Monday, all chairs were taken off the rope conveyor for maintenance. We were running the rope for 24 hours to take the spin out of it."

Smith said the worker had been working on an overtime shift.

"He hooked his chair on to the spinning ropes - and he didn't have the right tools to hook it - when he came to a thirty degree angle, the accident occurred, the chair was swinging on the rope." Smith said maintenance works on that conveyor had been communicated. - Sapa