El Mochito mine is an underground zinc

Zinc

Zinc , or spelter , is a metallic chemical element; it has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is, in some respects, chemically similar to magnesium, because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2...

 and silver

Silver

Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...

 mine

Mining

Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...

 in Honduras

Honduras

Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...

 that is owned by Breakwater Resources

Breakwater Resources

Breakwater Resources is mining company based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. On August 26 2011 the company was acquired by Nyrstar.-Current Operations:Breakwater operates four producing mines:*Myra Falls mine in British Columbia*Langlois mine in Quebec...

. The mine is located near the municipality of Las Vegas

Las Vegas, Santa Bárbara

Las Vegas is a municipality in the Honduran department of Santa Bárbara....

 in northwest section Honduras . At approximately 88 km (54.7 mi) northeast of the mine, the closest major city is San Pedro Sula

San Pedro Sula

San Pedro Sula is a city in Honduras. It is located in the northwest corner of the country, in the Valle de Sula , about 60 km south of Puerto Cortés on the Caribbean. With an estimated population of 638,259 people in the main municipality, and 802,598 in its metro area , it is the second...

, which also acts as the commercial centre of the country. The mine is operated through Breakwater's wholly owned subsidiary

Subsidiary

A subsidiary company, subsidiary, or daughter company is a company that is completely or partly owned and wholly controlled by another company that owns more than half of the subsidiary's stock. The subsidiary can be a company, corporation, or limited liability company. In some cases it is a...

 company American Pacific Hondouras S.A. de C.V.

History

The deposit was discovered in 1938. Rosario Resources Corporation purchased the property in 1943 and began production in 1948. American Pacific Mining Corporation purchased the property in September 1987, and in March 1990, Breakwater acquired American Pacific, and the mine.