The economics of the situation are clear and brutal: when the market price of a metal falls below the costs of mining it, there is little reason to keep the mine going.

This logic is hitting smaller metals miners hard. Prices for nickel, zinc, platinum, lead and copper continue to fall on expectations of a global manufacturing slowdown, and many so-called “juniors” are not cash-rich or diversified enough to withstand such drops without taking draconian measures.