The aluminium smelter is located next to George Town in Tasmania's north. (ABC News: Mitchell Woolnough)
George Town was meant to be reliant on manganese and aluminium smelting jobs for decades to come.
Houses have been built and businesses have banked on people continuing to flock to the northern Tasmanian town.
But after the liquidation of the nearby manganese smelter there are fears the area's economy will collapse if the Bell Bay aluminium smelter follows suit.
The Rio Tinto-owned aluminium smelter is teetering on the brink. Its power deal with state-owned power producer Hydro Tasmania expires at the end of the year.
Community members are also angry that the same federal government bailouts offered to Rio Tinto's aluminium smelters in New South Wales and Queensland aren't yet on the table in Tasmania.
The closure of Bell Bay Aluminium would have a knock-on effect across the wider community. (ABC News: Mitchell Woolnough)
There's an air of alarm in the town as unions and local industry groups mount a desperate fight to keep it operating.
Andy Reece, who worked at both the manganese and aluminium smelters, is blunt in his assessment of George Town's future if Bell Bay Aluminium closes.
"It's a lot of jobs to lose in a small town."
Rio Tinto is in negotiations with energy provider Hydro Tasmania to keep the smelter running. (ABC News: Mitchell Woolnough)
Rio Tinto and Hydro Tasmania have been negotiating for a new 10-year power agreement for the Bell Bay facility for more than two years.
The two parties were previously so far apart that they only agreed to a one-year bridging deal last November, following state government intervention.
Nine months later they are still locked in the same stalemate, with Tasmanian Energy Minister Nick Duigan telling state parliament that Hydro and Rio Tinto are about $60 million a year apart, a cost of $600 million over the ten-year life of the contract.
Susie Bower from industry group Bell Bay Advanced Manufacturing Zone says a deal must be struck by the end of the month to give certainty to workers and the community.
