VANCOUVER, Jan. 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Focus Ventures Ltd. (TSX-V: FCV.V) is pleased to announce that its second-phase diamond drill program has commenced at its Nueva California property, located some 35km north of Barrick Gold's Pierina Mine, near the town of Huaraz, Peru.

The program is designed to define a bulk tonnage gold-silver resource over the extent of the mine area. Initial holes will be drilled to provide a geological section over the 800m width of the deposit as defined by the underground workings, with subsequent drill holes based on a 100m grid. Drilling will also test deep geophysical targets and more conceptual targets associated with a low angle regional fault believed to underpin the known mineralization at depths of 250m - 350m.

Background

The Property is located in the Cordillera Blanca, in north-central Peru at an altitude of 3,300m a.s.l. approximately 35km from Barrick Gold's Pierina mine. Artisanal underground and open pit mining operations, commenced in 1983 which exploited a series of parallel northwest-southeast trending epithermal gold-silver mineralized zones with a reported head grade of 8 g/t Au and 120 g/t Ag. Gold and silver are produced on site via a small heap leach circuit and recovery plant.

Encouraging results were received from a 400m, first-pass drill campaign by Focus which confirmed the presence of wide, potentially economic gold mineralization starting from surface (see press release October 26, 2009). Highlights of this drilling included:

    -   69.6m grading 1.84 g/t Au* and 22 g/t Ag from surface in
        Hole DDH-NC-003
    -   38.2m grading 1.7 g/t Au and 20 g/t Ag from surface in
        Hole DDH-NC-002

    * Interval 2.70m - 3.6m assaying 171 g/t Au was capped at 30 g/t Au for
        the purposes of this calculation

Focus is the first company to drill test Nueva California. The mine, which has never been systematically explored, has potential to host bulk-tonnage gold-silver mineralization within intensely altered granodiorite wallrocks and high grade gold mineralization in sheared argillites.

Underground and open pit mining over the last 26 years has defined a mineralized zone some 800 m wide, 400 m along strike and open, and to depths of up to 100m. Apart from a small portion in the center of the deposit, the existing mine is exploiting mineralization that is concealed by gravel overburden which is estimated to be over 60 m thick in places.

Qualified Person

The scientific and technical information in this release was prepared under the supervision of Mr. David Cass, Focus's President, who is a member of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia, and a "Qualified Person" in accordance with NI 43-101.

About Focus Ventures

Focus Ventures is acquiring advanced, drill-ready projects in Peru. Backed by an experienced technical team of geologists and consultants, Focus's strategy is to identify and acquire former producing mines or un-tested gold properties that show potential to become new mines. The Nueva California Property is the Company's first acquisition. The Company was recently listed on the TSX Venture Exchange. For further information, please call 604-688-5288 or visit our web site www.focusventuresltd.com.

    ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

    "David Cass"
    David Cass, President

    Contact: Erin Ostrom/Ralph Rushton
    Symbol: TSXV-FCV
    Shares Issued: 28.8-million

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE Focus Ventures Ltd.

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