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Description
The Calcite Mines are no longer in operation, but were once a vital part of the war effort during the Second World War. The calcite mineral mined at the site was used to make gunsights and with calcite importation from Turkey suspended by the war this desert site provided for the entire war effort. Originally only two men, one of them John Hilton who owned the prospecting rights to the area, worked the mine. They trudged 1 ½ miles everyday to the mine site where the temperature sometimes reached 140 degrees. When it became clear that two men could not mine enough for the war effort a company was formed and Hilton sold his rights to them at a very low price. He then remained on at the site to supervise the mining effort which was run entirely by volunteers. At the close of the war the mines were also closed and the site is now open to visitors to the Anza—Borrego Desert State Park, but the calcite mineral and all wildlife in the area remain protected.
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