A winch operator was killed deep underground at Harmony Gold Mining Co.'s (HAR.JO) Bambanani mine in South Africa following a rock fall, the sixth mining fatality in recent weeks, the country's largest mineworkers' union said Thursday.

The worker's body was recovered early in the morning, following the incident late the previous day some 2,900 meters below the surface in a stope panel, the National Union of Mineworkers said in an emailed statement.

"It took four hours for the body to be recovered as the deceased was completely covered by rocks," said Erick Gcilitshana, the union's national secretary for health and safety.

The union said a miner fell and died in a shaft at Gold Fields Ltd.'s South Deep mine Tuesday, and the day before a worker at Xstrata PLC's (XTA.LN) Wonderkop operation was killed after being caught between a motor and a handrail when a skip broke.

Preliminary figures released earlier this month by the Department of Mineral Resources showed a decrease in the number of mining fatalities last year to 128 from 168 in 2009. The industry recorded 684 mining deaths in 1990.

-By Robb M. Stewart, Dow Jones Newswires; +27 11 783 7848; robb.stewart@dowjones.com
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