A employee for Coeur d' Alene Mines Corp. was killed Sunday when he fell at the company's Palmarejo gold and silver mine in Mexico.

The worker was outside the underground mine and doing maintenance on a piece of surface equipment, the company said.

The incident is under investigation by the company and local police. Work at the underground part of the mine has been suspended.

Palmarejo is about 260 miles southwest of Chihuahu and employes 900 people.