Carbonates reduce the melting point of the mantle, and carbonate melts produced in low-degree melting of a carbonated mantle are considered the precursor of CO₂-rich magmas. We established experimentally the melting relations of carbonates up to 9 GPa, showing that Mg-carbonates melt incongruently to periclase and carbonate melt. The trace element signature of carbonate melts parental to kimberlites is approached by melting of Mg-rich carbonates.