Johannesburg - Equipment with an estimated street value of R23 000 used by illegal miners was found in Gugulethu informal settlement in Springs on Tuesday, police said.
The equipment included water pumps, gas bottles, wheelbarrows, spades, liquefying pots, and buckets.
Lieutenant Colonel Wilfred Kgasago said the suspects fled when police approached a shack where it is suspected gold processing - in this case, sieving gold from mud - takes place.