Gold Fields high-tailed it out of Dodge to greener pastures -- pastures which, high up in the Chilean Andes, turned out to not always have a green sheen.

When JSE-listed Gold Fields over a decade ago spun off its conventional, deep-level and labour-intensive South African gold operations into Sibanye Gold, its CEO at the time, Nick Holland, had a vision for the company.

Gold Fields would pivot to mechanised mining and focus on expansion outside of South Africa, with the South Deep mine its last operational asset in the country.

It was and is a sensible strategy. Mechanised mining is far safer and more productive than conventional mining, and Gold Fields was also reducing its exposure to South African risk.

The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) was on the rise at that time, unleashing a wave of labour and social unrest at South Africa's gold operations in the wake of its dislodging of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) as the dominant union in the platinum sector.

South Africa's mining sector also faced plenty of other challenges. The power crisis was unfolding, crime and illegal mining were rampant, and government policy was uncertain. Power and labour costs were also surging, while BEE transactions were adding another layer of costs by diluting value for existing shareholders.

So Gold Fields was high-tailing it out of Dodge to greener...