Sibanye-Stillwater mine said on Tuesday an employee was fatally injured while clearing a blocked ore pass at its Driefontein operations last night.

"Sibanye-Stillwater expresses their deepest condolences to the deceased employee’s family‚ friends and colleagues‚" said James Wellsted‚ head of investor relations.

"Investigations into the incident by Sibanye-Stillwater management together with the Department of Mineral Resources and other relevant stakeholders are under way."

Operations in the affected area have been suspended‚ as the incident is investigated.

Earlier this month‚ two mineworkers died at the company's Kloof operation in Gauteng‚ during a fall of ground‚ attributed to seismic activity according to initial reports. And at the start of the month‚ about 950 employees were left stranded underground at one of its mines in the Free State when a severe storm caused the collapse of a structure on Eskom’s 132kV line supplying mines in the Welkom area. The miners were all safely rescued after power supply was restored.

The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) has called for interventions to improve the safety of workers underground.