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; see -ite ¹

Example Sentences

In future, exploration teams could build up a database of indicator species and test an unknown site to find out if kimberlite deposits are buried beneath the soil.

From Science Daily • Oct. 24, 2023

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

From Science Daily • Oct. 24, 2023

This finding matches the real-life pattern seen with kimberlite eruptions starting near rift zones and then moving to continental interiors, the researchers reported July 26 in the journal Nature.

From Scientific American • Aug. 21, 2023

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 • Jul. 27, 2023

We also know a little bit about the mantle from what are known as kimberlite pipes, where diamonds are formed.

From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson