Last week, Core Lithium said it would close its Grants mine near Darwin, cutting 150 jobs. Two days later, it was the loss-making Savannah nickel mine, with 140 jobs gone. And the battery minerals sector could be on track for more mine closures as its quarterly reporting season gets under way – with several producers on track to report annual losses exceeding $100 million.

Weaker than expected growth in electric vehicle sales turned the battery metals boom to bust last year, and the collateral damage will likely emerge in 2024 in the form of job cuts across a sector that has suffered labour shortages for half a decade.