Rio Tinto backs A$28m barrier to stop poisonous cane toads reaching the Pilbara

Rio Tinto backs A$28m barrier to stop poisonous cane toads reaching the Pilbara

Rio Tinto backs A$28m barrier to stop poisonous cane toads reaching the Pilbara

Rio Tinto is putting millions of dollars into stopping poisonous cane toads from reaching the Pilbara region of western Australia, where the mining company has a vast iron ore operation. Together with Curtin University in Perth and other partners, it will spend A$28 million building a toad containment zone across 7,500 square kilometres of land between the Great Sandy Desert and the Indian Ocean. The five-year project, starting in 2027, aims to cut off the toads' water supply by making dams, storage tanks and other ground-level water sources toad-proof. Cane toads were brought to Australia in 1935 to control beetles in sugar cane, and have since marched west at 40 to 60 kilometres a year. Without action, experts say they would reach the Pilbara within two decades, where their toxins are lethal to native wildlife and threaten the region's ecosystem.

Rio Tinto is putting millions of dollars into stopping poisonous cane toads from reaching the Pilbara region of western Australia, where the mining company has a vast iron ore operation. Together with Curtin University in Perth and other partners, it will spend A$28 million building a toad containment zone across 7,500 square kilometres of land between the Great Sandy Desert and the Indian Ocean. The five-year project, starting in 2027, aims to cut off the toads' water supply by making dams, storage tanks and other ground-level water sources toad-proof. Cane toads were brought to Australia in 1935 to control beetles in sugar cane, and have since marched west at 40 to 60 kilometres a year. Without action, experts say they would reach the Pilbara within two decades, where their toxins are lethal to native wildlife and threaten the region's ecosystem.

Rio Tinto is putting millions of dollars into stopping poisonous cane toads from reaching the Pilbara region of western Australia, where the mining company has a vast iron ore operation. Together with Curtin University in Perth and other partners, it will spend A$28 million building a toad containment zone across 7,500 square kilometres of land between the Great Sandy Desert and the Indian Ocean. The five-year project, starting in 2027, aims to cut off the toads' water supply by making dams, storage tanks and other ground-level water sources toad-proof. Cane toads were brought to Australia in 1935 to control beetles in sugar cane, and have since marched west at 40 to 60 kilometres a year. Without action, experts say they would reach the Pilbara within two decades, where their toxins are lethal to native wildlife and threaten the region's ecosystem.