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

The technique, born from work by a team including Phillips, Dr. Simister, Dr. Sean Crowe and the late professor Peter Winterburn, could catalyze the discovery of new kimberlite deposits.

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

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 • 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

A kimberlite pipe could explode in your backyard as you read this.

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