Australia’s only manganese alloy smelter has been placed into voluntary administration, with the task of finding a buyer declared an immediate focus.
Liberty Bell Bay, in northern Tasmania, has been sitting idle since May when it paused operations due to ore supply issues and global price volatility.
The smelter is a subsidiary of GFG Alliance, owned by Sanjeev Gupta, who has got into trouble elsewhere in Australia, previously running the under-administration Whyalla steelworks.
British multi-national EY announced on Monday it had been appointed as Liberty Bell Bay’s administrator.
They will work with unions and state and federal governments to explore avenues to support operations and will meet with its 216-strong workforce as soon as possible.
The primary objective is to secure the restructure or sale of the company and its assets, the administrator said.
“Our immediate focus is on stabilising Liberty Bell Bay operations and initiating a sales process to find a new owner for this critical piece of infrastructure,” EY’s Morgan Kelly said.
Additional funding is being sought by EY for operational costs, including payment of employee wages.
The existing management team will remain in place.
The federal and state governments have said they will work closely with the administrators.
“GFG has failed to deliver on its commitments to restart operations and provide certainty to Tasmanians,” Tasmanian Industry and Resources Minister Felix Ellis said.
“(The) news will be difficult for workers, their families and the local community who have already endured prolonged uncertainty.”
A GFG Alliance spokesman said the company would fully co-operate with administrators and assist their efforts to achieve the best possible outcome for all.
“Liberty Bell Bay had faced a challenging 20 months due to the force majeure declared by its main ore supplier, a significant deterioration in market conditions worldwide, and rising costs,” the spokesman said.
“GFG Alliance had been pursuing a sustainable future for Australia’s only manganese smelter to protect 216 Tasmanian jobs and support local industry.”
In August, Tasmania’s government loaned Liberty Bell Bay $20 million to purchase ore with the goal of resuming operations.
When operations didn’t restart, the government in January appointed receivers and managers to protect the ore stockpile, accusing the company of breaching loan arrangements.
In May, the national corporate regulator lodged legal action to try to wind up Liberty Bell Bay over a failure to lodge tax returns.
GFG Alliance in November said it had signed a memorandum of understanding with a Georgian company to operate the smelter for up to five years.