Originally published in Mongabay
- The Nimba Mountains, a nature reserve classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, are home to viviparous toads, a rare species found in Guinea.
- This amphibian is threatened by several mining projects, including the Kon Kweni project entrusted to the Guinean Iron Mining Company.
- Wildlife conservation organizations fear the definitive disappearance of this species with this mining project, whose exploitation phase is announced for 2026.
- The Guinean Ministry of the Environment indicates that this mining project has not yet received an operating permit, as it is still undergoing an environmental assessment.
Simon Pierre Lamah no longer has a very vivid memory, but he remembers that the last time he saw scientists arrive at the Nimba Mountains biosphere reserve in southeastern Guinea for research work on the viviparous toad ( Nimbaphrynoides occidentalis ) was about two years ago, when he held the position of Director General of the Nimba Mountains Scientific Station (SSMN).
This Guinean hydrogeologist explained to Mongabay by telephone that the highlands of this mountain range, home to this endemic species and very sparsely populated, are under the absolute control of the Guinean Iron Mining Company (SMFG), owner of the mining permit for the Kon Kweni project (“iron stones” in the Kono language). This company, 85% owned by the American company Ivanhoe Atlantic, plans to extract up to 750 million tons of iron ore there.
“To gain access to viviparous toads, one must complete a whole arsenal of procedures with the company. As a scientist, we have difficulties in gaining physical access to these species located within the perimeter of the mines, which are sometimes treated as private property by the miners,” says Lamah.
He is particularly disappointed that he was unable to consult the results of the study conducted by these researchers of German nationality, who were guided at the time by mining operators in the Nimba highlands.
He claims that they simply reported to him that “there is a decline in population” of viviparous toads in the mountains, justified, according to them, by the presence of “predatory reptiles” around their habitats.
Risk of permanent extinction
The viviparous toad is a rare endemic species, whose habitat is in the high altitudes of the Nimba Mountains, an integral nature reserve straddling Guinea and Ivory Coast and classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Unlike other amphibians whose reproduction involves laying eggs, its female gives birth after a gestation period of nine months, as in humans.
According to the Amphibian Survival Alliance (ASA), the viviparous toad is classified as an evolutionarily distinct and globally endangered species.
“This means that it represents a long and irreplaceable branch of the amphibian evolutionary tree, with no close relatives; if it disappears, an entire lineage will disappear with it,” explains Gina Della Togna, Executive Director at ASA, in an email to Mongabay.
It indicates that the viviparous toad plays an essential ecological role in the ecosystem, and that, like other amphibians, it helps to regulate insect populations, contributes to the nutrient cycle and is part of the food chain supporting birds, reptiles and small mammals.
Della Togna is especially afraid that the Kon Kweni project, whose exploitation phase is announced for this year, will spell the end for this endemic species and other mammals present in this environment, such as chimpanzees.
The environmental and social impact study of the project, carried out by the French engineering company Biotope and consulted by Mongabay, also mentions the risks of physical destruction of the species’ habitats and their definitive disappearance during the project’s operational phase.
She recommends ex situ conservation, meaning conservation outside its natural habitat, as a solution for its preservation. This conservation involves establishing several reserve populations to prevent the species’ potential rapid extinction. Della Togna states that this operation carries considerable risks for the amphibian’s survival.
“An ex situ ‘safeguard colony’ for the viviparous toad of the Nimba Mountains is technically possible, but it is complex, risky and should be considered as an emergency measure of last resort, and not as a substitute for the protection of the species in its natural environment.”
“There are no authorized mining projects in the Nimba Mountains.”
Ivanhoe Atlantic, the majority shareholder of the Nimba Mountains iron ore deposit, announced in a statement published on October 23, 2025 , that it plans to start its “construction activities” in preparation for mining operations in the first quarter of 2026.
And yet, the Guinean government has not yet made the project’s impact assessment study public. This is contrary to Guinean law, according to Guinean environmental engineer and lawyer Abdramane Diakite. “The unavailability of the impact study is not legal in Guinea. Legality dictates that this study be available and published,” he emphasized to Mongabay by telephone.
The NGO Climate Rights International (CRI), which obtained a copy of the study and made it public via its website, did not mince words. “Sharing this impact study, whose findings are nothing short of alarming, with the general public can help raise awareness of the social and environmental issues at stake today in the Nimba Mountains,” Fabien Offner, Senior Researcher at CRI, stated in an email to Mongabay.
Guinean authorities claim that although mining permits have been granted for the exploitation of minerals in the Nimba Mountains, no authorization has yet been given for the actual exploitation.
“There is no authorized mining project in the Nimba Mountains (…) The Ministry of Mines has not issued any operating permits, because there is no operating permit if there is no environmental restitution,” stressed Karim Samoura, Secretary General of the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, in an email to Mongabay.
Dr. Samoura asserts that SMFG did, however, submit its environmental and social impact assessment report for the Kon Kweni project to the Ministry of the Environment. According to him, this report was forwarded to the Dutch Environmental Assessment Commission, a technical partner of the Guinean government, for review and analysis before the Ministry of the Environment could decide whether or not to issue an environmental compliance certificate for the project.
This approach stems from a recommendation made to the Guinean State by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee at its 47th session in July 2025, at the end of which the committee decided to maintain the Nimba Mountains Integral Nature Reserve on the list of World Heritage in Danger, due to mining projects threatening its integrity.
Translation provided by Google Translate.