Bell Bay, Tasmania
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Bell Bay is an industrial centre and port located on the eastern shore of the Tamar River, in northern Tasmania, Australia. It lies just south of George Town. In the year ended June 2021, 3.6 million tonnes of exports and imports passed through Bell Bay.[1]
History
Bell Bay Post Office opened on 18 September 1951 and closed in 1973.[2]
Industry
The Bell Bay Power Station was decommissioned in 2009, replaced by the Tamar Valley Power Station built next door.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
Bell Bay aluminium smelter started operating in 1955. since June 2025[update]Template:Dated maintenance category (articles)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". it is operated by Rio Tinto[3] (previously by Comalco).
TEMCO / Liberty manganese smelter
A manganese alloy smelter built by BHP, known as the Tasmanian Electro Metallurgical Company (TEMCO) opened on 11 May 1962[4] produces ferromanganese and silicomanganese.[5][6] BHP sold the plant to a Billiton subsidiary, Samancor, in 1998. BHP merged with Billiton in 2001, and so TEMCO came under the company's ownership again.[4] In 2021 it was bought by Sanjeev Gupta's Liberty Steel Group (parent company GFG Alliance), becoming known as Liberty Bell Bay. It is the only commercial ferroalloy operation in Australia.[5][6] In May 2025 the smelter began a phased shutdown, due to a shortage of ore, beginning with a period of "limited operations". Tropical Cyclone Megan damaged infrastructure of South32's GEMCO, their main supplier of ore, in March 2024.[7][8] The Premier of Tasmania, Jeremy Rockliff, requested assistance from the federal government in May 2025.[9] The smelter was scheduled to cease operating in mid-June for at least four weeks, with employees having to use up their leave.[10]
Transport
Bell Bay was connected to the Tasmanian Government Railways network in May 1974, when the 35 kilometre Bell Bay railway line opened, branching off the North East line at Nelson Creek to the north of Launceston.[11][12][13] Primarily built to carry logs for export, today it carries intermodal containers to and from the port.[14]
Berths
The first Bell Bay wharf was opened in 1927.[15] since June 2025[update]Template:Dated maintenance category (articles)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". it has seven berths, which cater for cargo from the various industries in Bell Bay, along with others.[16]
References
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- ↑ Annual report for year ended 30 June 2021 TasPorts
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- ↑ Bell Bay News Tasmanian Rail News issue 87 February 1973 page 2
- ↑ Bell Bay's First Train T'Rails June 1974 page 1
- ↑ Bell Bay Railway starts up business Railway Transportation August 1974 pages 20-24, 32
- ↑ Activity Map TasRail
- ↑ Bell Bay Wharf Launceston Examiner 16 June 1927 page 4
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