Rio Tinto will spend A$28 million alongside Curtin University and other partners to build a "toad containment zone" across 7,500 square kilometers in western Australia's Pilbara region. The five-year project begins in 2027 and aims to block cane toads from reaching Rio Tinto's iron ore operation by cutting off their water supply.
Cane toads need water every few days to survive during dry months. The containment zone will prevent toads from accessing dams, storage tanks and other ground-level water sources that cattle and irrigation typically use. Cane toads were introduced to Australia in 1935 to control beetles in the sugar cane industry. They have since spread west across Australia's northern landscape at 40 to 60 kilometers per year, with no natural predators or diseases to control them.
Native species in the Pilbara face risk if toads establish there, including the northern quoll, goanna lizard and ghost bat. Toads produce toxins lethal to wildlife. Ben Phillips, a professor at Curtin University, said without action the toads would reach Pilbara within two decades. "The toad containment zone is a once in a lifetime opportunity to stop one of the world's worst invasive species in its tracks and protect the region's unique wildlife," Phillips said.
Roberta Hunter, a ranger in the Nyangumarta Warrarn Indigenous Protected Area, said toads would "destroy the water and animals" in the region and that Indigenous communities want to help stop them.
Rio Tinto previously faced criticism for destroying two sacred Aboriginal rock shelters in Pilbara that sat above iron ore deposits. That decision cost the former chief executive his job and prompted the company to commit to rebuilding trust with Indigenous communities.