Gold Fields’ relocation project adds to scientific insights into chinchillas

Scientific gold is being spun around JSE-listed mining company Gold Fields’ chinchilla relocation project in the Chilean Andes, with AI tools advancing the monitoring of the critters and a recent peer-reviewed study shedding worrying light on the species’ limited diet.

As a scramble for critical commodities heats up worldwide, taking extractive operations into remote regions, the project may offer a template for accommodating wildlife conservation with the urgency of mining the minerals and metals required for the green energy transition.

To wit, Gold Fields launched Operation Chinchilla in 2020 to translocate a colony of about two dozen of the highly endangered short-tailed chinchillas to make way for its Salares Norte gold mine in Chile.

The relocation has taken unexpected twists and turns, raising critical public scrutiny and at times affecting Gold Fields’ share price – making it, in corporate parlance, a “material issue” for its C-suite. It was initially halted by the regulator after two of the first four captured animals died.

Soaring cost

But Gold Fields is not taking any more chances and revealed in late 2024 that its staff for the project numbered close to 80 – about three humans for each chinchilla –and the cost, though not fully disclosed, had soared into millions of dollars from an initial estimate of $400,000.

This makes Operation Chinchilla probably the most expensive rodent relocation undertaken. Luckily for Gold Fields, with the precious metal’s price in record territory, the costs are probably now close to a rounding error.

The chinchilla colony is almost certainly the most closely monitored population of wild rodents on the planet, and this is focusing a lens on the study of the species. In late December, the first peer-reviewed study linked to the project appeared in the scientific journal Animals.

Hunted to the brink of extinction in the 20th century for its highly coveted fur, the species remains enigmatic on many fronts – as Gold Fields discovered when it tried its initial translocation.

Among the many facets of chinchilla life that are poorly understood is the species’ diet, which the study focused on by collecting faecal samples in the area of the mine in all seasons.

Gold Fields funded the study, which uncovered that the chinchillas’ diet in the region is comprised of five plants, but the animals are highly dependent on one: a grass called Pappostipa frigida. This single species of grass accounted for almost 76% of its diet in the spring to more than 82% in the summer. Consumption in the other seasons fell between these ranges.

“The unique dependence on P. frigida makes the viability of populations inseparable from the conservation of these grasslands; protecting the plant resource is as essential as safeguarding the colonies,” the study says. In short, no Pappostipa frigida, no short-tailed chinchillas.

“It is reasonable to suggest that these are fragile, low-productivity ecosystems that may be sensitive to anthropogenic pressures such as construction projects, overgrazing and the effects of climate change,” Juan Pablo Castillo, a biologist at the University of La Serena and the author’s lead study, told Daily Maverick.

“In this context, our results … help to prioritise conservation efforts by highlighting the importance of protecting both the ­habitat and the key resources that sustain the species.”

The bottom line is that this knowledge, which is material to the conservation of the species, may not have come to light were it not for a gold mine having been built in the vicinity of a colony.

“This has been a remarkable journey and I think that, during the past number of years, we have really advanced the knowledge base across this issue. We continue to progress; we continue to learn,” Gold Fields’ chief executive Mike Fraser said on a media call with journalists last month after the company’s latest results.

The mining industry has a long and dark history of environmental degradation, and it continues to extract an ecological toll in many cases. But in an age when environmental, social and governance concerns – ESGs – have become a priority among investors and regulators, many publicly listed mining companies are striving to clean up their act and even contribute to the causes of science and conservation.

Vital attitude shift

It’s easy to dismiss this as “greenwashing”. But it’s also the case that efforts to contain climate change will not be possible without the mining and production of “green metals”. More mining, not less, is required, and so it is vital for it to be done in an ecologically sustainable way.

In the latest update on the translocation, Gold Fields’ chinchilla team in Chile told Daily Maverick that five more of the animals were translocated in 2024/25 and seven so far up to early March in 2025/26 – the summer season.

“The current campaign is still ongoing, so we expect to potentially capture one or two more chinchillas this season,” the team said.

“Thanks to the integration of AI in 2025, the Chinchilla Rescue and Relocation Programme reached new standards of efficiency and accuracy, facilitating the management and traceability of large volumes of data and enabling more effective and detailed monitoring of each individual.”

The team did not say how many still needed to be moved, but the project seems to be on track – now with the aid of AI, which is being used throughout.

Gold Fields has its roots in South Africa, where modern techniques for the live capture and translocation of megafauna such as elephants and rhinos were ­pioneered. It is now at the forefront of efforts to translocate mini-fauna – which, at times, has seemed more arduous than moving the big creatures. DM

This story first appeared in our weekly DM168 newspaper, available countrywide for R35.