Arabic version: قد تكون ليبرتي بيل باي معسرة منذ عام 2025

According to ABC News, administrators for Liberty Bell Bay believe the northern Tasmanian manganese smelter may have been insolvent from as early as May 1, 2025. The EY Parthenon voluntary administrators’ report was completed after the business was placed into administration in March and officially closed last week.

Liberty Bell Bay, Australia’s only manganese smelter, was part of GFG Alliance, owned by Sanjeev Gupta. Its closure left about 200 workers without jobs. The administrators estimated total creditor claims at between $70 million and $300 million, including $27 million owed to employees for superannuation, annual leave, long service leave, redundancy and pay in lieu of notice.

The report cited falling revenue, operating losses and a rise in overdue payables in reaching its view on insolvency. Yearly revenue dropped from $172 million in the 2024-25 financial year to $11 million in 2026. It found net losses of $21 million in 2022-23 and $80 million in 2024-25, while payables more than 60 days old rose from 18 per cent of total payables in 2023-24 to 86 per cent in 2026.

The Tasmanian government provided Liberty Bell Bay a $20 million loan in August 2025. Of that amount, $14 million was used to buy one 23,000-tonne shipment of ore. Deputy Premier Guy Barnett said it was concerning that the company may have been insolvent before receiving the loan, and said the government’s security was the ore.

The administrators also found a net inter-company loan balance of $191 million after GFG Alliance moved about $200 million out of Liberty Bell Bay through inter-company loans. Their preliminary estimate of a potential insolvent trading claim was about $25 million, if proven. Creditors will meet on August 3 to decide whether the company should be wound up and whether to appoint a liquidator.