Faust named the new mineral "huntite" in honour of his former teacher, Walter Frederick Hunt (1882–1975),[8] Professor of Petrology at the University of Michigan.

[9] Faust carried out analyses of the mineral, and found amongst others that in differential thermal analysis huntite showed two endothermic peaks, which could be attributed to the dissociation of MgCO3 and CaCO3 respectively.

Large deposits of huntite occur in Turkey and Greece and these are commercially exploited because of its fire retardant properties.

Huntite thermally decomposes over a temperature range of about 450–800 °C, releasing carbon dioxide and leaving a residue of magnesium and calcium oxides.

[33] In 1983, Oomori et al. claimed laboratory synthesis of huntite at 33 °C when adding a sodium carbonate solution to concentrated seawater saturated with calcium bicarbonate.

In laboratory experiments originally intended to synthesize magnesium calcite, they had added cultures of Microcoleus chtonoplastes (cyanobacteria) to seawater brine.

The release of carbon dioxide is endothermic, meaning that it absorbs heat, which helps to cool the burning material, slowing the fire's spread.

[50] Somewhat more exact was Stromeyer in 1812, who claimed that his sample of conite had been found near the village of Frankenhayn, on the eastern slope of the Hoher Meissner near Kassel, Germany.

[51] In 1849, Hirzel repeated that conite could be found on the eastern slope of Mount Meissner,[52] and in 1882, Schrauf reported the mineral from the magnesite deposits on the borders of the Schöninger Bach at Křemže near Budweis, Czech Republic.