 At the end of the 19th century, José Dámaso Valle, a prospector from León who discovered 14 gold mines and registered them in his name in the Bluefields Registry Office.The first organized, small-scale mining was carried out by the La Luz and Los Angeles Mining Company from 1908-1928, during which time an estimated 523,000 short tons grading 0.25 oz/ton gold was produced.In 1909, La Luz and Los Angeles Mining Company, owned by James Gilmore Fletcher and his brothers, G. Fred & D. Watson Fletcher and Henry P. Fletcher, acquired a concession for mineral exploitation in Siuna.