Mining giant joins fight to stop killer toad march across Australia

Rio Tinto is ploughing millions of dollars into stopping the poisonous cane toad reaching the Pilbara region of western Australia, where the mining giant has a vast iron ore operation.

The firm, alongside Curtin University in Perth and others, will spend A$28m (£14.5m) building a "toad containment zone" to prevent the pest travelling south.

While the cane toad is not a direct threat to Rio Tinto's business, it produces toxins lethal to native wildlife and poses a threat to Pilbara's ecosystem.

Rio Tinto has previously faced criticism for destroying two sacred Aboriginal rock shelters in Pilbara which sat above tonnes of iron ore.

The decision cost the former chief executive his job, provoked a widespread backlash and saw Rio Tinto commit to rebuilding trust with Indigenous communities.

Commenting on the proposed containment zone, Roberta Hunter, a ranger in Australia's Nyangumarta Warrarn Indigenous Protected Area, said: "Cane toads destroy the water and animals.

"When toads come close to our country, we want to be there to stop them because we don't want the country to be destroyed."

The plan is to cut off the toad's water supply by building a barrier across 7,500 sq km (2,895 sq m) of land between the Great Sandy Desert and the Indian Ocean.

Kaynak: BBC News World RSS (Açık Basın / Haber Servisi)