Twenty-five years and no results: corporate co-optations of Yukon mine reclamation research

• Reclamation research did not change reclamation practices between 1998–2024. • Companies used research to boost their image and avoid costly reclamation measures. • Regulators did not examine reclamation research quality or solicit results. • Poor/absent research transfers liability for reclamation outcomes to the land. • Accepting the mining industry’s claims can cause harm; critical review is required. Indigenous peoples and local communities effectively inherit a mine after closure, with the vast majority of mines abandoned with inadequate or incomplete reclamation. New proponents promise responsible mining, including improvements to reclamation practice through research. This promise reflects an underlying assertion that a lack of technical knowledge previously limited reclamation outcomes. This study investigates the claim that research (broadly defined) translates into improved mine reclamation practice. Through discourse and content analysis, I traced the reclamation promises, research programs, and practices of three quartz mines in the Yukon Territory, Canada, from 1998–2024. I found reclamation practices did not materially change during this time. I argue reclamation research was instead co-opted to promote the perception of corporate responsibility, distract from other reclamation commitments, and limit the production of knowledge on the likely ecological outcomes of reclamation. There was no evidence the regulator examined the quality of research programs while consistently accepting company rationale for delays in scaling up modelling and pilot experiments to operational-scale trials. Without testing and refining practices over time, mining companies transferred the liability for reclamation outcomes from their corporations to the Land. I conclude the claim that research will improve mine reclamation in the Yukon is unfounded and contend commercial interests in reclamation research were to maintain access minerals. This study highlights the importance of critically examining the industry’s claims of how contemporary mining is different than the past, especially when previous problems are framed as purely ‘technical’.