Assessment of the mound kiln carbonization technique.In this paper, we firstly analyse the différent kinds of earth kiln carbonization methods used around the world, including a brief description of their construction and operational aspects. Then we analyse various indicators assessing the quantitative and qualitative efficiency of a carbonization: mass yield, energy yield, balanced mass yield. Finally we compare the earth kiln carbonization technique to other improved carbonization methods. The comparison shows that the earth kiln method could be as efficient as improved methods, and is characterized by mass yields ranking from 20 to 30% (dry basis) and by fixed carbon contents above 75% (dry basis). The key factor of the earth kiln carbonization method is the know-how of the charcoal maker