South Africa has possibly the highest incidence of malignant mesothelioma anywhere, thanks to more than a century of mining asbestos in the Northern Cape, North- West, Limpopo and Mpumulanga provinces. There are three types of asbestos and all were mined in South Africa; the most carcinogenic is crocidolite, of which production peaked in 1977. The last asbestos mine closed only in 2002, and massive environmental contamination from unrehabilitated mines and mine dumps will ensure ongoing exposure well into the future.