kimberlite

[ kim-ber-lahyt ]

noun

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

kimberlite

/ 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

kimberlite

/ 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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of kimberlite¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of kimberlite¹

C19: from Kimberley + -ite ¹

Example Sentences

The researchers tested this in the lab, introducing kimberlite to soil microbes and watching how they changed in number and species.

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

That makes it difficult to pin down kimberlite eruptions’ cause, especially because no one has witnessed one of the furious blasts.

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