The oldest well-preserved komatiites, and the type examples, are found in the Barberton Greenstone Belt in South Africa (3·5–3·3 Ga). All three komatiite types are present, commonly within the same stratigraphic unit. Al-depleted komatiites have low Al/Ti, relatively high concentrations of incompatible elements and depleted heavy rare earth elements (HREE); Al-undepleted komatiites have chondritic Al/Ti and flat HREE patterns; and Al-enriched komatiites have high Al/Ti, low concentrations of incompatible elements, enriched HREE and extremely depleted light rare earth elements. Based on a comprehensive petrological and geochemical study, we propose a new melting model for the formation of these magmas. The basis of the model is the observation, from published experimental studies, that at great depths (∼13 GPa) the density of komatiitic liquid is similar to that of solid peridotite. At such depths, melting in a rising mantle plume produces near-neutrally buoyant komatiite melt that does not escape from the residual peridotite. As the source ascends to shallower levels, however, the pressure decreases and the density difference increases, eventually making melt escape possible. Al-depleted komatiites form first at about 13 GPa by equilibrium melting under conditions in which a large proportion of melt (30–40%) was retained in the source and the residue contained a high proportion of garnet (15%). Al-undepleted and Al-enriched komatiites form by fractional melting at intermediate to shallow depths after the escape of a large proportion of melt and after exhaustion of residual garnet. This model reproduces the chemical characteristics of all komatiite types in the Barberton belt and can probably be applied to komatiites in other parts of the world.