Dunite ( or ) (also known as
olivinite, not to be confused with the mineral
olivenite) is an
igneous,
plutonic rock, of
ultramafic composition, with coarse-grained or
phaneritic texture. The
mineral assemblage is greater than 90%
olivine, with minor amounts of other minerals such as
pyroxene,
chromite,
magnetite, and
pyrope. Dunite is the olivine-rich end-member of the
peridotite group of mantle-derived rocks. Dunite and other peridotite rocks are considered the major constituents of the Earth's
mantle above a depth of about 400 kilometers. Dunite is rarely found within continental rocks, but where it is found, it typically occurs at the base of
ophiolite sequences where slabs of mantle rock from a
subduction zone have been thrust onto
continental crust by
obduction during continental or
island arc collisions (
orogeny). It is also found in alpine peridotite massifs that represent slivers of sub-continental mantle exposed during collisional orogeny. Dunite typically undergoes retrograde
metamorphism in near-surface environments and is altered to
serpentinite and
soapstone.