The Liberty Bell Bay manganese smelter in northern Tasmania will close immediately following the failure to secure a buyer for the former GFG Alliance asset. The facility entered administration in March 2026, and in May, administrators announced an agreement with a consortium to acquire the business. However, one of the consortium's main financial backers withdrew last month, leading the preferred bidder to pull out of the acquisition process on Tuesday, July 15th.

In a statement on Wednesday morning, July 16th, administrators EY Parthenon confirmed the consortium had ceased pursuing the sale transaction. They cited broader economic challenges associated with operating the smelter in a volatile global economy as contributing factors to the difficulties.

EY Parthenon informed employees of the closure on Wednesday morning and stated that updates regarding redundancies would be provided next week. "Employees are being provided with all support available during this difficult period," the statement said. In the short term, a small workforce will be retained to safely demobilise the site, realise the sale of remaining assets, and meet environmental and regulatory obligations.

The closure marks the end of operations at Australia's only manganese smelter, located at Bell Bay in Tasmania.

Sources