The slow rejection of mercury in Yukon’s small-scale gold mining industry

Mercury technologies in small-scale gold mining (SSM) operations have been slowly rejected in Yukon, Canada. We analyse fieldwork data collected over 4.5 months between 2020–2023 from 32 semi-structured interviews, 20 placer mine visits, and participatory observation notes. Using diffusion of Innovation theory (DoI) we identify prior conditions (i-iv) required to escalate the rejection of mercury as a processing technology more widely. Data relevant to the slow rejection of mercury technologies were thematically coded around technological, governmental and societal shifts. We find that the (i) previous practice involving mercury technologies shifted through time in response to (ii) felt needs/problems (initially technological but later including health, environment, and community needs/problems). The shifts were addressed by the (iii) innovativeness of the community; enabled through formalization channels and possibly by access to resources such as electricity. Eventually mercury-centred practice was eclipsed by chemical free processes which led to the evolution of new (iv) norms of a social system. Globally, where artisanal scale mining (ASM) and SSM industries continue to be reliant on mercury, consideration of prior conditions could help identify context-specific opportunities for mercury mitigation and draw attention to the need for mercury recycling programs to redress legacy mercury.