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Motuoane Energy (Pty) Ltd is seeking to convert its existing Exploration Right (ER315) into a Production Right to extract helium and methane gas in the Free State. The proposed project includes drilling approximately 43 production wells, installing gas collection pipelines, and building a helium recovery and gas processing plant (CNG and/or LNG). Environmental Impact Management Services (Pty) Ltd (EIMS) is conducting the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), currently in the scoping phase. Affected communities, including Virginia/Meloding, Theunissen/Makeleketla, and Ventersburg/Mmamahabane, are invited to register as Interested and Affected Parties (I&APs) and submit comments by February 23, 2026.

The Centre for Environmental Rights and Natural Justice, representing several community and environmental networks, submitted formal objections to the Scoping Report for the Motuoane Production Right application. The project proposes hydrocarbon exploration and extraction over approximately 14,400 hectares in the Free State Province, involving up to 43 production wells and associated infrastructure. The objectors argue that the Scoping Report is deficient in its assessments of air quality, climate change, hydrogeology, and social impacts, and that the public participation process was not meaningful.

The Centre for Environmental Rights, on behalf of MACUA and MEJCON-SA and jointly with Natural Justice, submitted formal objections to the Motuoane Exploration Right 386 application. The submission argues that the project's scoping report is deficient in its assessment of climate change, air quality, and groundwater impacts, and that the public participation process was exclusionary and legally inadequate.

A community guide regarding a gas exploration application by Motuoane Energy (Pty) Ltd in the Free State province of South Africa.

The COMPACT stakeholder engagement session focused on enhancing local government accountability and responsiveness through innovative public participation. Key findings emphasize the value of hybrid engagement systems—combining traditional and digital methods—and the role of civil society in amplifying community contributions. The event led to the establishment of a COMPACT Reference Committee and the gathering of inputs for a public participation toolbox, with attendance from eight partner municipalities, various sector departments, and research institutes.

The Centre for Environmental Rights, representing MEJCON-SA and MACUA, submitted a formal objection on May 9, 2023, against Tetra4 (Pty) LTD's application to amend its Water Use Licence (WUL) for the Cluster 2 expansion of gas and helium production near Virginia, Free State. The objection argues that the Integrated Water and Waste Management Plan (IWWMP) fails to adequately assess risks of groundwater contamination, radioactive waste, municipal water stress, and the compounding effects of climate change on a region critical for South African food security.

This document is a formal objection letter from the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), on behalf of the Mining and Environmental Justice Community Network of South Africa (MEJCON-SA) and Mining Affected Communities United in Action (MACUA), regarding Tetra4's application to amend its Water Use Licence (WUL) for the Cluster 2 expansion of gas and helium production near Virginia, Free State. The document includes the original objections and the corresponding responses from Tetra4, focusing on risks to groundwater, radioactive contamination, waste management, and the impacts of climate change on water security.

This policy brief by the Stockholm Environment Institute analyzes the collapse of gold mining in the Free State Goldfields of South Africa to derive lessons for current and future decarbonization transitions in regional economies.

The decline of gold mining in South Africa's Free State Goldfields led to catastrophic economic collapse, rising poverty, and severe gender-based vulnerabilities. Initial local government responses failed by prioritizing the revival of a vanishing industry over economic diversification. While the Free State Goldfields Development Centre showed early success in job creation and diversification, political factionalism and governance failures undermined long-term gains. National interventions, including Social and Labour Plans, are criticized for being too general and failing to address community-wide needs or local conditions.

The Mining and Environmental Justice Community Network of South Africa (MEJCON-SA) and Mining Affected Communities United in Action (MACUA) have appealed a decision by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) to grant environmental authorisation (EA) to Tetra4 (Pty) Ltd for the Cluster 2 Virginia Gas Production Project. The appellants argue that the decision is unlawful and unreasonable due to flawed groundwater and climate change assessments, inadequate public participation, a failure to consider renewable energy alternatives, and the state's lack of capacity to monitor gas operations.

A community guide published by Natural Justice in January 2026 regarding Motuoane Energy (Pty) Ltd's application to convert a portion of its existing Exploration Right (ER315) into a Production Right (PR) for helium and methane gas extraction in the Free State province of South Africa.

The document details citizen engagement workshops held in 12 South African municipalities as part of the COMPACT project's second phase of action research. With 262 participants, the workshops identified significant failures in the Integrated Development Plan (IDP) participation process and a lack of communication between municipal leadership and communities. These findings are being used to develop a COMPACT Toolbox and individual municipal reports to establish a baseline for improving public participation.