Consolidated Minerals has joined the list of miners cutting permanent staff, with the company set to shed more than 180 staff and contractors by mid –December at its Beta Hunt nickel project in Kambalda.
Underground operations at the minesite have been suspended until market conditions improve.
A skeleton staff will oversee the mine's care and maintenance from mid-December.
Up to 25 staff will stay on at the firm's Coobina site to maintain the chromite mine until demand picks up.
The news follows recent retrenchments at other WA mines including those run by Mount Gibson and Magellan Metals.
Analyst Peter Strachan said the company’s decision may have a flow-on effect at BHP's nickel smelter.
Strachan predicts a reduction in ore processing could prompt BHP to lay off up to a quarter of its Kambalda workforce.