Liberty Bell Bay smelter in Tasmania's north enters 'limited operations', no 'forced redundancies'

Australia Broadcast Center

19-05-2025

One of the biggest industrial manufacturing employers in Tasmania's north, Liberty Bell Bay, formerly known as TEMCO, has been placed into a period of "limited operations".
"Due to ongoing challenges with ore supply, Liberty Bell Bay (LBB) has no option but to enter a period of limited operations," a spokesperson said.
"LBB lost its main ore supplier last year due to Tropical Cyclone Megan which caused extensive damage to South 32's GEMCO infrastructure, placing pressure on inventory and working capital.
"We are still working through ore supply options at present.
The ABC understands there are around 250 full-time staff at Liberty Bell Bay, with the company saying there will be "no forced redundancies".
The manganese alloy smelter in George Town has been in trouble in the past and faced closure in 2019 after its former owner, South32, announced it was reviewing operations at its Australian and South African alloy smelters.
But it was saved a year later when it was bought by international company GFG Alliance in 2020, which is headed by British businessman Sanjeev Gupta.
Mr Gupta has also made headlines recently over another of GFG's assets — the Whyalla steelworks in South Australia, which is losing money and was forced into administration by the SA government in February.
Administrator KordaMentha is presiding over the finances of the Whyalla steelworks, which the ABC understands has debts of about $1 billion.
Liberty Bell Bay is the only commercial ferroalloy operation in Australia. It processes ferro manganese silicomanganese at its plant.
Energy expert Marc White, from Goanna Energy, said it was devastating news for the hundreds of families employed by Liberty Bell Bay.
"Liberty Bell Bay accounts for around 7 per cent of the state's energy consumption," he said.