The Hawks are intensifying efforts to dismantle key figures behind illegal mining operations across South Africa.
The state estimates that these unlawful activities are costing the country billions of rands in lost revenue.
Between October and December, the crime-fighting unit arrested nearly 1,500 individuals for illegal mining, with a significant number being foreign nationals.
Authorities are closely tracking transnational crime syndicates believed to be at the centre of these operations.
Hawks head, Lieutenant General Godfrey Lebeya, told reports that their investigations are closing in on several high-level suspects.
He revealed that some of those targeted are implicated in cases involving over a billion rand and have been found in possession of large sums of cash, some exceeding R5 million.
Lebeya added that further details on these arrests and ongoing investigations will be shared when the fourth quarter crime statistics are released in April.
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