A consortium consisting of Adroit Capital and White Oak Global Advisors has been announced as the preferred bidder for the troubled Liberty Bell Bay manganese smelter in northern Tasmania.
The smelter was put into administration in March this year, and its workforce has since relied on a series of state-federal short-term funding packages.
On Wednesday, administrators EY Parthenon said it had entered into an agreement with the consortium for exclusive negotiations to acquire the smelter.
EY Parthenon said it would now work with the consortium to complete due diligence and progress towards completing a transaction through either an asset sale or Deed of Company Arrangement.
Australia’s only manganese smelter is located in Bell Bay, in Tasmania’s north. (ABC News: Kelsey Reid)
In a joint statement coinciding with the announcement, the federal and Tasmanian governments said a further $5 million in state-federal funding for employee wages would be supplied over the next eight weeks.
The governments have contributed $9.6 million in total to support the smelter’s workforce since April 24.
Federal Minister for Industry Tim Ayres said the announcement should offer reassurance to workers “who have been in limbo since the facility was let down by its previous owners,” Sanjeev Gupta’s GFG Alliance.
Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff said the joint funding would ensure workers had the support they needed.
“This additional funding will provide some surety while due diligence continues with Adroit Capital,” Mr Rockliff said.’Real breakthrough’ for workers
Federal Labor MP for Bass Jess Teesdale said the announcement was a “real breakthrough” for the smelter after months of uncertainty.
“It’s encouraging to see real progress towards new ownership, and this brings us closer to the certainty local workers and the community have been waiting for,” she said.
There are more than 200 workers at the Liberty Bell Bay manganese smelter in northern Tasmania. (ABC News: Kelsey Reid)
The smelter at Bell Bay in northern Tasmania — Australia’s last ferromanganese smelter — was put into administration on March 23 this year.
But the smelter had been in care and maintenance mode since May 2025, when previous owner, Sanjeev Gupta’s GFG Alliance, placed the smelter in a period of limited operations due to global price volatility and ore supply issues.
In August last year, Liberty Bell Bay — then owned by GFG Alliance — was given a $20 million Tasmanian government loan, $14.5 million of which was used to buy one 23,000-tonne shipment of ore which was delivered in October.
But by January, the Tasmanian government determined that GFG had defaulted on the loan and appointed another major accounting firm, Deloitte, as receiver to take control of the pile of ore.
Secured lender White Oak, a US-based private equity firm, took over GFG’s holding in Liberty Bell Bay and appointed EY Parthenon as administrators in late March.
In early March this year, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) filed action in the New South Wales Supreme Court to wind up Liberty Bell Bay, alleging it failed to lodge annual reports for the financial years ending in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024.
The corporate watchdog dropped the proceedings on April 30.
Two bidders remain for Whyalla steelworks
Another business formerly owned by GFG Alliance, Whyalla steelworks in South Australia, was forced into administration by the SA government in February last year.
The move was triggered by solvency concerns, with the steelworks failing to pay tens of millions of dollars in royalty payments to the government, and millions in unpaid bills to creditors.
On Wednesday, the SA government announced M Resources and Jindal Steel as the two bidders remaining for the financially stricken steelworks, while BlueScope Steel retains its right of last offer.