Prior to its termination, asbestos mining in South Africa was centred on the large crocidolite fields of the present day Northern Cape, the amosite (grunerite)-crocidolite fields of Limpopo, and chrysotile fields of Mpumalanga provinces. The legacy of these activities continues to affect surrounding communities in contemporary South Africa. The asbestos fields of Limpopo host two important former mining areas at Penge and at the Bewaarkloof near Chuenespoort. A large abandoned site is located southeast of Penge at Weltevreden, where there is no evidence of any rehabilitation. Two former mines, Lagerdraai and Uitkyk, are rehabilitated sites in an extensive string of closed mines that operated in the southern Bewaarkloof. Samples from the abandoned and rehabilitated mine sites were studied using semi-quantitative X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) to determine asbestos contamination levels in soils, and to assess distribution patterns of asbestos mineral species in the surrounding soils. Only where below detection (typically 1–3 mass%) from XRD, samples were assessed optically. The Weltevreden site, with no observable rehabilitation efforts, contrasts with the rehabilitated sites at Lagerdraai and Uitkyk. The predominant asbestiform mineral species at each site were successfully identified, with underlying geological asbestos mineral distribution trends recognised in the soils at the Bewaarkloof. Trace amounts of asbestiform minerals were identified in soils downstream of the Weltevreden mine, as well as in surrounding hillsides. The results indicate that XRD is a potentially useful tool for benchmarking sites yet to be rehabilitated as well as monitoring the effectiveness of previous rehabilitation efforts. The method is also a suitable first-pass for target areas that may require more detailed, time-consuming, and costly analysis.

在终止之前，南非的石棉开采主要集中在当今北开普省的大型青石棉田、林波波省的铁石棉（绿石）-青石棉田和姆普马兰加省的温石棉田。这些活动的遗产继续影响着当代南非的周边社区。Limpopo 的石棉田在 Penge 和 Chuenespoort 附近的 Bewaarkloof 拥有两个重要的前矿区。一个大型废弃场地位于 Weltevreden 的 Penge 东南部，没有任何修复迹象。Lagerdraai 和 Uitkyk 这两个前矿山是在 Bewaarkloof 南部运营的一系列封闭矿山中的修复场地。使用半定量 X 射线粉末衍射 (XRD) 对来自废弃和修复矿区的样品进行研究，以确定土壤中的石棉污染水平，并评估周围土壤中石棉矿物种类的分布模式。只有在低于 XRD 检测（通常为 1-3 质量%）的情况下，才对样品进行光学评估。Weltevreden 场地没有明显的修复工作，与 Lagerdraai 和 Uitkyk 的修复场地形成鲜明对比。成功确定了每个地点的主要石棉矿物种类，并在 Bewaarkloof 的土壤中发现了潜在的地质石棉矿物分布趋势。在 Weltevreden 矿下游的土壤以及周围的山坡中发现了痕量的石棉状矿物质。结果表明，XRD 是一种潜在有用的工具，可用于对尚未修复的场地进行基准测试以及监测先前修复工作的有效性。对于可能需要更详细、耗时且成本高昂的分析的目标区域，该方法也是一种合适的首次通过。