The incident took place at around 2 am at South Eastern Coalfields Limited's (SECL) Kurasia underground mine in Chirmiri area, said the company's area general manager (Chirmiri) Ghanshyam Singh.
The blast occurred when Dhaneshwar Das was laying explosives on the coal bed after drilling holes into it, he said.
Koriya, a neighbouring district of Korba, is located around 300 km from capital Raipur.
As per preliminary information, when Das was placing the dynamite, another explosive fitted in the same place by a driller in the previous shift, exploded killing him on the spot, he said.
An enquiry has been ordered into the incident and a separate probe will be conducted by the director general of mines safety, the official said.
The police have registered a case in this connection and further investigations are underway, said station house officer Satyaprakash Tiwari of Chirmiri police station. COR TKP ARU ARU