A northern Tasmanian business group is racing to secure a buyer for Australia’s only manganese alloy smelter as the corporate regulator works to force its current owner into liquidation.
The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) applied last week to the NSW Supreme Court to wind up and liquidate the Liberty Bell Bay manganese smelter in northern Tasmania due to years of not filing financial statements.
The matter is listed for a directions hearing in the NSW Supreme Court on Monday, with Liberty Bell Bay (LBB), owned by Sanjeev Gupta’s embattled GFG Alliance, saying it will resist the move.
LBB says it is finalising the submission of its financial statements to ASIC.
LBB signed a five-year memorandum of understanding with…