Fabian Cambero 2 minute read Chinchillas are displayed in a pet store in Montevideo, Uruguay, December 4, 2017. REUTERS/Andres Stapff SANTIAGO, July 6 (Reuters) - A Chilean environmental regulator's probe into whether a group of endangered short-tailed chinchillas was harmed by attempts to move them so that a gold mine could be built will likely wrap up "in the coming months," the environmental regulator's head told Reuters. South Africa's Gold Fields Ltd (GFIJ.J), which is building the $860 million Salares Norte mine, has been working with Chilean authorities since 2020 to relocate the animals. The Superintendency of the Environment (SMA) in November 2020 ordered a halt to the relocation efforts after one of the 25 giant rodents in the colony suffered a broken leg and two others died.