Afro Energy - Environmental Impact Assessment Process for Exploration Activities in ER383 in the Free State and Mpumalanga Provinces

Exploration Right (ER) 383 - Register as an Interested and Affected Party
Afro Energy Pty (Ltd) is proposing a staged exploration work programme that will be undertaken over 3-years under ER obligations, and possibly Renewal Periods, and largely follows this sequence:

Phase 1: Early Exploration for Gas
The proposed early phase exploration includes for:
• Undertaking an aeromagnetic survey.
• Drilling of standard stratigraphic exploration core boreholes at identified target sites;
• Logging of the core holes; and
• Sampling and analysis of extracted cores.

Phase 2: Advanced exploration for Coal Bed Methane (CBM)
If early exploration is positive then Afro Energy may proceed to an advanced exploration drilling phase,
comprising:
• Drilling of larger diameter boreholes for permeability testing to understand geotechnical data andgas quality; and
• Flow testing of gas and produced water for delivery and longevity quanta

SLR Consulting (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd (SLR) has been appointed as the independent Environmental Assessment Practitioner to undertake the required Scoping and Environmental Impact Assessment (S&EIA) process to meet the relevant requirements of the National Environmental Management Act 107 of 1998 (NEMA) and EIA Regulations, 2014.

Status

Afro Energy (Pty) Ltd (Afro Energy) has applied in terms of Section 79 of the Minerals and Petroleum Resources Development Act, 2002 (No. 28 of 2002) (MPRDA) for a right to explore for natural gas in the Free State and Mpumalanga Provinces.

In accordance with the MPRDA, SLR Consulting (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd has been appointed by Afro Energy to compile an application for Environmental Authorisation (EA) in terms of the National Environmental Management Act, 1998 (No. 107 of 1998) (NEMA) and undertake an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process in terms of the EIA Regulations, 2014 (GN. R 982 of 2014).

A Scoping and Environmental Impact Assessment (S&EIA) Process was undertaken in terms of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Regulations, 2014.

The Scoping Report was made available for public review and comment for a period of 30 days, from 26 July to 27 August 2024, and subsequently submitted to the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources (DMPR) for decision-making purposes. The DMPR accepted the Scoping Report on 22 November 2024.

The EIA and Environmental Management Programme (EMPr) were made available for public review and comment from 13 February to 14 March 2025, also for a period of 30 days, and were then submitted to the DMPR for consideration. The final EIA and EMPr were submitted to the DMPR on 2 April 2025.

Following its review, the DMPR granted the EA on 23 June 2025. A stakeholder notification letter with a copy of the EA is provided below. The EA outlines, amongst others, the decision, the activities authorised, conditions of authorisation, reasons for the decision and the appeal process in terms of the National Appeals Regulations 2025.