noun
- Plural of carnallite; a mineral consisting of a hydrated chloride of potassium and magnesium, used as a source of potassium salts and magnesium compounds.
Usage: technical; geology/mineralogy
Examples
- Carnallites are mined in several countries for their potassium content.
- The deposit contains significant reserves of carnallites suitable for industrial extraction.
- Carnallites form in evaporitic environments where seawater has concentrated over time.
- Processing carnallites yields both potassium chloride and magnesium compounds.
- Geologists identified carnallites in the ancient salt layers beneath the surface.