JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Operations at South African gold producer Gold Fields’ No,4 shaft, at the Kloof mine west of Johannesburg, have been suspended as the company investigated a fatality.

Spokesperson Julian Gwillim told Mining Weekly Online that a miner had been killed during an underground cleaning operation, and that a team was currently underground assessing the situation.

The Department of Minerals and Energy (DME) was expected on site on Wednesday afternoon. Gwillim noted that operations would only resume after the internal inspection had been completed, and the results presented to the DME.

It was unsure how production at the mine would be affected by the closure of the No.4 shaft.

The Kloof mine produced 25 533 kg, or 821 000 oz in the 2008 financial year.

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