Alunite is a hydrated aluminium potassium,sulfate mineral, formula KAl₃(SO₄)₂(OH)₆. It was first observed in the 15th century at Tolfa, near Rome, where it is mined for the manufacture of alum. First called aluminilite by J.C. Delamétherie in 1797, this name was contracted by François Beudant in 1824 to alunite.