 But the small scale of the operation and the desolate location made the enterprise only marginally economic.El Boleo was first operated, on a large commercial scale, in 1885 by the French company Compagnie du Boleo which obtained control of the property and began mining, after receiving an extensive concession and 70-year tax exemption granted by Mexican president Porfirio Diaz.Diaz apparently hoped that the mine would create a development zone in the arid and unpopulated region.