Liberia's Rangers Find Hope in Abandoned Iron Mines

Deep in Liberia's misty Nimba Mountains, Moses Darpey guides researchers through a landscape of rusting mining equipment and vast craters filled with rainwater. He's searching for one of Africa's rarest creatures: a tiny toad that gives birth to live young instead of laying eggs.

The twist? Darpey was once considered an enemy of conservation as a charcoal harvester. Today, he's a government ranger protecting the very forests he used to work.

His transformation is at the heart of "Overburden," a documentary exploring an unexpected turn in Liberia's fight to protect endangered western chimpanzees and other threatened species. The Nimba range, which stretches across Liberia, Guinea and Côte d'Ivoire, is both a biodiversity hotspot and home to some of Africa's richest iron ore deposits.

For decades, multinational mining companies carved deep into these mountains, leaving behind what seemed like permanent scars. But nature found a way. Bats driven from their forest homes discovered shelter in abandoned quarry buildings and mining tunnels.

The critically endangered Nimba toad, with only a handful left in the wild, now hides among piles of mining debris on grassy ridgelines.

"It's really about whose expertise is recognized and who is seen as indispensable," said Shadrach Kerwillian, a Liberian conservation biologist featured in the film. His work shows how local knowledge and international science are combining to protect what's left.

The Bright Side

Today's conservation efforts in Nimba are being shaped by an unlikely partnership. ArcelorMittal, Liberia's largest foreign investor and an active mining company, recently signed an agreement to help manage the East Nimba Nature Reserve, a UNESCO-recognized treasure.

The company funds biodiversity surveys and research that provide invaluable scientific data about the region's rare species. While the relationship between extraction and protection remains complex, it's creating opportunities for Liberians like Darpey and Kerwillian to lead conservation efforts in their own communities.

Community forest guards who once struggled against conservation rules are now its frontline defenders. They're mapping wildlife, protecting endangered species, and sharing traditional knowledge that helps scientists understand how ecosystems recover.

The resilience of life in these mountains offers genuine hope for coexistence between human needs and nature's survival.