The man, named as Davis Wayne, was killed after heavy rains triggered the 3am landslide at the mine, which belongs to US mining giant Freeport McMoRan.

"The landslide hit a passing Ford pickup which was driven by an Australian national," provincial police spokesman Wachyono said.

"The car fell about 150 metres down into a ravine. A rescue team is now working to evacuate the body."

The spokesman said Wayne worked for a firm that was contracted by Freeport Indonesia.

Freeport, which mines gold and copper, is the largest single taxpayer to the Indonesian government.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011