kimberlite

American  

[kim-ber-lahyt] / ˈkɪm bərˌlaɪt /

noun

1. Petrology. a variety of micaceous peridotite, low in silica content and high in magnesium content, in which diamonds are formed.

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kimberlite British  

/ ˈkɪmbəˌlaɪt /

noun

1. an intrusive igneous rock generated at great depth in the earth's mantle and consisting largely of olivine and phlogopite. It often contains diamonds

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kimberlite Scientific  

/ kĭm′bər-līt′ /

1. A type of peridotite consisting of a fine-grained matrix of calcite and olivine and containing phenocrysts of olivine, garnet, and sometimes diamonds. Kimberlites are found in long, vertical volcanic pipes, especially in South Africa.

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Etymology

Origin of kimberlite

1885–90; named after Kimberley, South Africa; -ite ¹

Example Sentences

Researchers have identified buried kimberlite, the rocky home of diamonds, by testing the DNA of microbes in the surface soil.

From Science Daily

They found that over the last 500 million years, there is a pattern where the plates start to pull apart, then 22 million to 30 million years later, kimberlite eruptions peak.

From Scientific American

A new study offers clues to the mysteries of kimberlite eruptions, the source of most of the diamonds mined on Earth today.

From New York Times

One idea posits that the deep plumes of rising, hot mantle that may drive continental breakup could also fuel kimberlite formation.

From New York Times

De Beers, through its CarbonVault initiative, has been trying to capture carbon from the atmosphere and lock it away in kimberlite, the rock in which diamonds are found.

From Reuters