They both look about the same so how do you tell the difference between them.

slate is a natural stone which can be split off a block of stone. Asbestos siding is a man made product made with cement and asbestos fibers. As long as the asbestos fibers are not disturbed, there is little or no problem healthwise.

I doubt that you can get asbestos these days, but you can get slate. Slate, however, is heavy and a siding of slate would make the house very heavy and could case some problems later on

You have to get a sample and get it checked it is the only way to know for sure.

Asbestos has fine hairs in it...