Police have recovered commercial explosives and detonating cords and have arrested a man and a woman believed to be involved in illegal mining.
Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department spokesperson chief superintendent Wilfred Kgasago said the arrests had been made at the Angelo Informal Settlement in Boksburg on Friday afternoon at around 14:00.
Kgasago said the EMPD Community Liaison Unit had acted on crime intelligence information provided by the police.
"A shack yard at Angelo settlement, with several people busy sieving what is believed to be gold-laden soil to obtain the precious metal, was located," he said.
Kgasago said when metro police had searched the shack they came across blasting explosives with detonating cords.
"A woman who claimed to be the owner of the shack pointed out a man from the people in the yard as the owner of the explosives," he said.
Kgasago said the EMPD K9 unit, in conjunction with the SAPS Explosives Unit members, had confirmed that the items found in the shack were real explosives.
He said the 31-year-old woman and the 29-year-old man were arrested and detained at Boksburg Central police station on charges of illegal possession of explosives.
They are expected to appear in the Boksburg Magistrate’s Court on Monday.
Mini production line for sieving soil to obtain gold found by EMPD. (Supplied)