Compañía Minera Atacocha
Peruvian mining company producing lead, zinc and copper concentrates, with associated hydroelectric power assets.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
Compañía Minera Atacocha, commonly known as Atacocha, is a Peruvian mining company focused on the exploration and exploitation of mineral concessions. Its principal operations are located in the Pasco region, in and around the districts of San Francisco de Asis de Yarusyacán and Yanacancha. The company has historically produced concentrates containing lead, zinc and copper, while silver has also been an important recovered metal in its mining history. Atacocha was established in Lima on 6 February 1936 by Francisco José, known as Paco, Gallo y Díez, a Spanish-born mining entrepreneur who acquired mining rights in the Cerro de Pasco area. The company was formed during a period when Peru's central Andes were becoming an important center of industrial mining. Its original identity was closely connected to the Gallo family: the company's early rooster emblem referenced both the founder's surname and his family's heraldic traditions. The company's operating infrastructure has included underground and related mine workings, a treatment plant and a mining camp. Its assets are situated at high altitude in Pasco, an area characterized by complex polymetallic deposits. Atacocha's output has traditionally been sold as mineral concentrates rather than as refined metals, linking the business to smelters and international metals markets. The company has also been involved in electricity generation through ownership of the Marcopampa and Chaprin hydroelectric plants, which together have an installed capacity of 6.6 megawatts. Atacocha remained a publicly traded Peruvian mining enterprise for much of its history and was included in the S&P/BVL Peru General Index before its ownership structure changed. In 2008, the Brazilian Votorantim Group acquired a controlling interest reported at approximately 70 percent. From 2009 onward, the operation has been associated with the Nexa Resources Atacocha name, reflecting its integration into the Votorantim-linked base-metals mining group that later operated under the Nexa Resources identity. Historical production illustrates the scale of the operation. By 2000, the company reported extraction of approximately 29 million tonnes of ore through more than 275 kilometers of horizontal and vertical workings. Over that period, it had produced substantial quantities of zinc and lead concentrates, together with more than 100 million fine ounces of silver. These figures describe cumulative historical production rather than current annual output. Atacocha's positioning is that of a regional polymetallic mining operator embedded in Peru's established central-Andean mining belt. Its business combines mine development, ore treatment and concentrate production, with power generation as an ancillary activity. The available reference material does not provide reliable current production figures, reserves, workforce data, revenue figures or a separately identified standalone consumer-facing brand strategy.
History
Compañía Minera Atacocha was founded in Lima on 6 February 1936 by Francisco José Gallo y Díez, commonly known as Paco Gallo. Born in Santander in 1905, Gallo came to Peru as a young man in 1923 in connection with the liquidation of the family business Casa Gallo. Rather than returning immediately to Europe, he identified opportunities in the Cerro de Pasco area, sold the family commercial enterprise and acquired land and mining interests. He later trained as a mining engineer in Europe and obtained exploitation rights that became the basis for Atacocha. The first ordinary general shareholders' meeting took place on 20 March 1936. At that meeting, the company appointed a board chaired by Gino Bianchini, with Gerardo Diez, Alberto Quesada, Manuel B. Llosa and Oscar Díaz Dulanto as members. Díaz Dulanto also handled interim management. On 20 April 1936, the Italian engineer Edgardo Portaro Mazzetti was appointed manager. The company's early rooster logo reflected the founder's surname, since “gallo” means rooster in Spanish, as well as the family's heraldic background. Gallo remained chairman until 1973. He then relinquished the position and moved to Madrid after the military government led by Juan Velasco Alvarado introduced major reforms affecting Peru's economic and industrial structure. The company continued operating as a mining enterprise in the central Andes, developing extensive underground workings and processing infrastructure in Pasco. Atacocha's operations have been based in the districts of San Francisco de Asis de Yarusyacán and Yanacancha, in Pasco province. The operating complex has included mines, a treatment plant and a mining camp. The company has produced lead, zinc and copper concentrates, with silver recovered as an important component of its polymetallic ore. It also owned two hydroelectric facilities, Marcopampa and Chaprin, with a combined installed capacity of 6.6 megawatts. By 2000, Atacocha reported that it had extracted 29 million tonnes of ore through more than 275 kilometers of horizontal and vertical workings. Cumulative historical production was reported at approximately 2.3 million units of zinc concentrates, 1.7 million units of lead concentrates and more than 100 million fine ounces of silver; the reference material does not specify a consistent measurement convention for the concentrate quantities, so those figures should be treated as historical reported totals rather than reconstructed production statistics. For much of its corporate history, Atacocha was publicly listed in Peru and formed part of the S&P/BVL Peru General Index. In 2008, Brazil's Votorantim Group acquired the company and was reported to control about 70 percent of its interests. Since 2009, the business has operated under the Nexa Resources Atacocha, S.A.A. name. This change connected the Atacocha operation to the broader Votorantim-linked base-metals portfolio and the Nexa Resources group. The available sources do not establish a separate current management roster, current ownership percentage, current production level or a standalone corporate website.
- 2009
Operation associated with Nexa Resources Atacocha
[1]The company began operating under the Nexa Resources Atacocha, S.A.A. name.
- 2008
Votorantim acquires controlling interest
[1]The Brazilian Votorantim Group acquired Atacocha and was reported to hold approximately 70 percent of its interests.
- 2000
Historical production record reported
[1]The company reported 29 million tonnes of ore extracted through more than 275 kilometers of horizontal and vertical workings, together with substantial cumulative zinc, lead and silver production.
- 1973
Founder leaves the chairmanship
[1]Paco Gallo relinquished the chairmanship and moved to Madrid during the period of major reforms under Peru's military government.
- 1936
Company founded in Lima
[1]Francisco José Gallo y Díez founded Compañía Minera Atacocha on 6 February 1936 after acquiring mining rights in the Cerro de Pasco area.
- 1936
Initial board and management appointed
[1]The first ordinary shareholders' meeting appointed a board chaired by Gino Bianchini, while Edgardo Portaro Mazzetti became manager in April.
Products and positioning
A Peruvian central-Andes polymetallic mining operator focused on the extraction and treatment of lead-, zinc- and copper-bearing ores, with associated hydroelectric generation assets.
Base-metals concentrate
Zinc concentrates
Zinc-bearing concentrates produced from Atacocha's polymetallic ores have been one of the company's principal commercial outputs. The operation mines and treats ore rather than presenting a consumer product, so the concentrates are intermediate materials intended for downstream smelting and refining.
Base-metals concentrate
Lead concentrates
Lead concentrates are produced through the treatment of ore from the Atacocha mining complex. They are sold as industrial mineral inputs and may contain recoverable silver and other associated metals characteristic of polymetallic deposits.
Base-metals concentrate
Copper concentrates
Copper-bearing concentrates are among the outputs identified for the Atacocha operation. The available reference material does not provide a separate current production volume or product specification for this line.
Precious-metals by-product
Silver-bearing mineral output
Silver has historically been recovered from Atacocha's polymetallic ore and concentrates. Historical references report more than 100 million fine ounces of cumulative silver production by 2000, but do not provide a current annual figure.
Electricity generation
Hydroelectric power
Atacocha has owned the Marcopampa and Chaprin hydroelectric plants. Together they have an installed capacity of 6.6 megawatts, making power generation an ancillary activity alongside mining and mineral processing.
Sources1 sources
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