Smelter closure devastates Tasmanian community

Manganese smelter Liberty Bell Bay is ceasing operations after administrators failed to find a buyer. The closure will leave more than 200 employees without work and have flow-on effects in northern Tasmania. What's next? An employment hub will be activated at the George Town Library to support affected workers. Ben Manion is used to uncertainty but he said what unfolded at his workplace in northern Tasmania this morning came as "quite a shock to the system". Mr Manion has worked as a contractor or full-time employee at Liberty Bell Bay, Australia's only manganese smelter, for 13 years. But the future of the facility and its 217 workers has been under a cloud since May last year when it entered a phase of "limited operations". Earlier this year the smelter was placed in voluntary administration amid hopes a buyer would be found. But when Mr Manion joined a weekly phone hook-up on Thursday morning the systems administrator was given the worst possible news. The administrators had ordered the immediate closure of the business. "For George Town, it's going to be a pretty big hit," Mr Manion said. Despite his disappointment he said he was somewhat relieved to get clarity. "Even though it's bad news, at least we know what the news is," he said. "[Liberty Bell Bay] has been limping along since May last year, but especially since March — it's almost like we've been living week to week. "So while it is bad news, at least it's finally news." 'End of an era' Susie Bower from the Bell Bay Advanced Manufacturing Zone said it was "an extremely disappointing day" for the area. "We were so hopeful of a positive outcome," Ms Bower said. "That is not to be. "So, we now need to move our attention to supporting those employees and the supply chain." Ms Bower said some of the smelter's employees had been working there for four decades. She said an employment hub would be set up at the George Town library for drop-in sessions to assist affected workers. "We will help them through that process," she said. George Town Mayor Greg Kieser was equally disappointed. "It really is on so many levels the end of an era," he said. But Cr Kieser said he was confident the community's resilience would help it move on from the current situation. He said the community still had a "robust pipeline of opportunities, from green electricity generation to green methanol plants that are well advanced". "And even to new data centre assets that will continue to make Bell Bay a thriving, viable, keystone economic contributor to the north of our state," Cr Kieser said.