Kilns or Igloo's?
| In 1875
rich deposits of silver lead ore were discovered in the Argus Mountains on
the west side of Panamint Valley. Following the strike, the Modoc mining
district came into being with the Modock Mining Company controlling the
mines over on Lookout Mountain. With the discovery of other mines like the
Minnietta, the district became known as the Lookout District.
In order to treat the ores, run the smelters and stamp mills, coal was needed as a hot burning fuel. Since coal does not occur naturally in the area , the charcoal kilns were built up in the Panamint Mountains to convert wood from the pinion pine trees to coal.
construction of the ten kilns began in 1877. The diameter of the kilns at
the base measured
around 30 feet, with a average height of 25 feet, and a thickness of the
walls at the base of around 2 feet thick thus giving each Kiln a capacity of 42
cords of wood.
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