Breaking: Australia's only manganese smelter to close immediately

The administrators of Australia's last manganese smelter say they have ordered the immediate closure of the business. The Liberty Bell Bay smelter in northern Tasmania was placed into administration in March this year, but in May, administrators announced it had entered into an agreement with a consortium to acquire the business. One of its main financial backers pulled out last month, leaving the sale in doubt. It ultimately fell through this week. In a statement on Wednesday morning, its administrators EY Parthenon said the consortium informed them on Tuesday that they had ceased pursuing the sale transaction. "In the absence of both a commercially viable transaction, and the funding required to continue operations, the Administrators have made the difficult decision to commence the orderly closure of the business with immediate effect," it said."These difficulties were, in part, driven by the broader economic challenges associated with operating the smelter in a volatile global economy." EY said the employees were informed on Wednesday morning, and would be updated about redundancies next week. "Employees are being provided with all support available during this difficult period," the statement said. "In the short term, the Company will retain a small workforce to safely demobilise the site, realise the sale of remaining assets and meet its environmental and regulatory obligations." Loading