In early August, Australia’s only manganese alloy smelter entered liquidation, closing the smelter and costing 200 jobs in northern Tasmania.
Creditors voted to liquidate the Liberty Bell Bay smelter after a potential sale collapsed the month prior, closing 66 years of operation.
The operation went into administration in March 2026 after longstanding issues with the former owner of Liberty Bell Bay, GFG Alliance.
Liberty Bell Bay was one of GFG Alliance’s final standing Australian assets and had been working under limited operations since May 2025.
But with Australia’s only manganese alloy smelter now gone, it poses the question: How will Australia produce manganese alloys?
No shortage of manganese resources
Australia has no trouble sourcing manganese ore, ranking fourth in the world for economic resources in 2024, according to Geoscience Australia.
In that same period, while Bell Bay was operating at full capacity, Australia was the third largest producer of manganese ore globally, accounting for a 9% share of the world’s economic resources.
The Northern Territory is described as a world leader for manganese production, producing 5.05 million tonnes in 2025–26. That is within a greater total production of 168 million tonnes of manganese ore.
The state ranks first for production levels in Australia, valued at $1.46 billion in 2025–26.
The Northern Territory reportedly has over 125 million tonnes of manganese ore remaining in JORC-compliant resources. Meanwhile, Western Australia reportedly had 118 million tonnes of manganese ore in ore reserves in 2025.
In Western Australia, manganese exploration is primarily conducted in the Pilbara and Mid West regions.
One manganese-focused company in the development stage is Black Canyon (ASX:BCA) in the Pilbara.
The company holds over 2,000km2 of manganese-rich tenements, focusing on its flagship Wandanya Project. The project stands on the eastern boundary of the Oakover Nasoma and around 80km south of Consolidated Minerals’ (ConsMin) Woodie Woodie manganese mine.
At Wandanya, Black Canyon has discovered ‘unique’ stratabound, outcropping manganese and iron. The discovery indicates similarities to hydrothermal manganese mined at Woodie Woodie.
Late last month, the company began a 5,000m drilling campaign across 4.2km of untested ground at the project, which sits along a 9km mineralised trend.
Assays returned from the 400m southern extension include 5m @ 29.4% manganese (Mn) from 3m, including 2m @ 48.1% Mn from 6m; 6m @ 26.7% Mn from 2m, including 2m @ 41.7% Mn from 6m; and 4m @ 44.8% Mn from 4m, including 2m @ 51.2% Mn from 5m.
Black Canyon says the Wandanya Project has potential for direct shipping ore of both manganese and iron products or manganese beneficiation.
The company intends to release a Scoping Study in Q4 2026, among a focus on other recent pre-development studies, including metallurgy, environmental, logistics, marketing, and hydrology.
Production outside of alloys
ConsMin’s Woodie Woodie mine has been a manganese hotspot since the early 1950s. Ore was first mined at the site, which began the first bulk commodity exports from Port Hedland — 14 years before iron ore exports.
Woodie Woodie comprises multiple open-pit mines and a processing plant with a 1.6-million-tonne-per-annum (Mtpa) capacity.
But the operation is on the rise. ConsMin intends to extend the life of this mine site by expanding mine boundaries to the north, south, and west. Concurrently, it looks to increase the existing processing capacity to 2Mtpa by boosting fines production.
Is there a smelting future?
With Liberty Bell Bay’s doors closed, Australia currently has no manganese smelting capacity and will be required to rely on manganese alloy exports.
A simplified explanation of manganese alloy smelters is the combination of manganese ore with iron and carbon at very high temperatures, which produces manganese alloys needed for steel production.
The future is uncertain for Australia’s manganese alloy smelting industry. However, Mining and Energy Union General President Grahame Kelly is not hopeful.
“Once smelter capacity is gone, it’s gone for good,” Kelly says on the Liberty Bell Bay closure.
“Australia cannot afford to casually discard a critical mineral operation, especially at a time of global supply chain insecurity.”
Australian Manufacturing Workers Union National Secretary Steve Murphy described the Bell Bay members as the “hands and brains” that kept the steel and aluminium industry moving and “Australia’s industrial heart beating”.
Australia’s broader industrial sector combines the mining, manufacturing, and construction industries, acting as a “foundation for national economic health, international competitiveness, and long‑term sustainability”, the Department of Industry, Science, and Resources reports.
Write to Maddison Elliott at Mining.com.au
Main Image: Liberty Steel Group
