Liberty Bell Bay shutdown impacting fertiliser supplier

The temporary shutdown of manganese alloy smelter Liberty Bell Bay at George Town is having a ripple effect on popular agricultural fertiliser supplier Beam Bros at Flowery Gully.

The Beams Bros quarry supplies Australia’s only commercial ferroalloy operation with limestone and dolomite in rock form which is added to low and high-grade iron in the smelter’s furnaces.

It’s a contract that accounts for about 30 per cent of the quarry’s core business and underpins its supply of agriculture products such as lime and dolomite to the farming community.

Manager Don Beams said that the smelter’s business gives it the capacity to continue operating when demand from farmers is low. 

“It’s what keeps us viable, so we’re hoping this is just a temporary thing,” Don said.

“We’ve known for some weeks that they were in trouble with their ore supply - we keep our products in stock to meet their needs, usually up to 10,000 tonne a month, but we were asked to back off for a little while.”

Luckily the shutdown has come at a busy time for Beams Bros, which has been receiving so many orders it has added another mobile crushing plant.

“Farmers have been putting on quite a bit of fertiliser this year, and we expect that to rise further with the increased amount of poppies going in the ground,” he said.

“They are wanting limes and dolomite in superfine blends and the new crushing and screening set-up aids the effective neutralising effect on the soil where it is applied.

“This sieve test is showing quite a few more percent up in ???? now – we’re producing superfine, baby powder lime and whatever blends farmers are asking for.”

High magnesium lime is in particularly high demand in the Huon and Derwent Valleys where it’s going into land for fruit production as well as when sowing paddocks and replenishing the ground.

Beams Bros has quarries at Flowery Gully and a dolomite lease operation at Black Creek near Cressy on the Tole family property.

It also provides road base and other materials for laneways and drains on farms and employs around 45 people including drivers, diesel mechanics, welders, fitters and apprentices plus workers on its small forestry operations.

It’s diversification includes supply of mobile crushing and drilling equipment and some of its land is for fattening up angus and Hereford cattle.

“The Liberty Bell Bay closure will impact us, we have noted a slowing down of trade and decreased cash flow – it’s a week-to-week thing now and while we’ve got enough work to keep us going now once the wet weather hits we hope we will have the smelter to keep us busy.”