It was renamed Free State shortly after the 1994 constitution went into effect.
Gold mining is also important, and uranium oxide, diamonds, and coal are mined.
Synthetic rubber, fertilizers, plastics, textiles, and processed foods are manufactured, and oil is refined from coal. Bloemfontein is the province's road and rail hub. The Univ. of the Orange Free State in Bloemfontein is the chief institution of higher education. In the early 19th cent. In 1848 the British, who then held Cape Colony and Natal, annexed the region as the Orange River Sovereignty.