Focus drills 169g/t Ag + 7.8% Zn + 8.3% Pb over 10.8m at Santa Rosa, Perú

VANCOUVER, Oct. 12, 2011 /PRNewswire/ - Focus Ventures Ltd. (TSX-V: FCV) is pleased to report assay results from the first three diamond drill holes from its Santa Rosa Ag-Pb-Zn project, located 100km northeast of Lima, Peru. The best intercept returned was 169 g/t Ag + 7.8% Zn + 8.3% Pb over 10.8m from 162m downhole in hole DDH-11-03.

This preliminary drilling is designed to test beneath the Ag-Zn-Pb mineralization exposed in the Santa Rosa and Milagros-Sally underground workings.

All three holes intersected mineralization which is as yet poorly constrained and open to depth in both Santa Rosa and Milagros-Sally. Drilling cut significant intervals of disseminated/fracture-controlled mineralization and narrower intervals of more massive, high grade replacement-style mineralization hosted in a sequence of brecciated quartzites and fine grained clayey sediments belonging to the Cretaceous-aged Chimu Formation. The sulphide mineralogy is simple, with sphalerite and galena accompanied by pyrite, and associated with quartz and minor chalcopyrite.

Holes SR DDH-11-01 and SR DDH-11-02 were drilled from the same platform and were angled underneath the Santa Rosa and Milagros areas respectively. Hole DDH-11-03 was drilled on a separate platform 70m to the northeast and tested underneath the Santa Rosa workings.

Results from Hole DDH-11-04 are awaited, which was drilled 140m west of the first platform also under the Milagros-Sally workings. Hole DDH-11-05 is located some 260m to the south of Milagros-Sally to test the Santa Rosa Sur target and is in progress.

Santa Rosa Target

* Poor recovery from 168.4m - 169.9m (69%), and 170.9m - 172.7m (52%)

Milagros-Sally Target

* Broken zone from 108.0 -113.9m (43% recovery)

Hole Summaries

A plan map and drillhole sections will be available on the Focus website shortly at www.focusventures.com.

DDH-11-01 was drilled at an azimuth of 323 degrees, and -45 degrees inclination and targeted underneath Level 4267 at Santa Rosa. The hole azimuth deviated during drilling which meant the hole ended up at least 10m to the west of the intended target at around 145m depth where it encountered underground workings and core loss. A 2.9m interval of quartzite-hosted mineralization was drilled from 144.8m to 147.7m and assayed 4.4% Zn, 0.35% Pb and 14.6 g/t Ag, before passing through underground workings on Level 4267 from 147.7m to 151.9m.

Disseminated, low grade mineralization (<1% Zn) was intercepted in a sequence of fine grained andesitic tuffs with quartz-pyrite stockworks immediately below the void which assayed a wide 30.5m intercept grading 0.3% Zn + 0.32% Pb + 9.8 g/t Ag to 182.4m. It is believed better grades could be present below this volcanic unit where the same structural zone cuts the quartzites. A fault contact with the quartzites was drilled from 174.9 - 178.4m and pyritized quartzites were drilled until the hole was terminated at 227.9m.

DDH-11-02 was drilled from the same platform as DDH-11-01 at an azimuth of 257 degrees at a -45 degree angle and west underneath the Milagros-Sally underground workings. The hole encountered several veins hosted byandesitic volcanics in the upper part of the hole. From 47.6m to 124.0m a sequence of mineralized hydrothermal breccias were drilled in silicified and pyritized quartzites and pelitic sediments. Sphalerite and galena occur with pyrite in a variety of forms namely breccia infill around quartzite clasts, fracture/veinlets with quartz, fine disseminations and massive sulphide. A 59m interval from 63.0 to 122.0m graded 1.2% Zn, 0.2% Pb, 6.6 g/t Ag. Zinc grades are fairly consistent down the hole, although slightly stronger mineralization occurs toward the base of the interval (10.3m @ 3.7% Zn from 98.2m to 108.5m) prior to a major fault (which may be the main controlling feeder fault). The hole was lost at 146m due to bad ground.

DDH-11-03 targeted underneath the Santa Rosa workings and drilled at an azimuth of 258, inclined at -45 degrees to test the high grade mineralization sampled in the northeastern part of the underground workings. A sequence of mineralized hydrothermal breccias hosted in sandstones and quartzites were drilled from 155.1m to 178.4m. A higher grade interval of semi-massive sphalerite and galena with quartz veinlets was drilled from 161.9m - 172.7m and assayed 7.8% Zn, 8.3% Pb and 168.6 g/t Ag over 10.8m, and consisted of an upper zinc rich and a lower lead-silver rich zone. Of note are the high silver assays, up to 1,040 g/t Ag (169.9m - 170.9m) associated with massive galena mineralization. A footwall fault/gouge zone consisting of milled quartzite fragments and clays was drilled from 175.9m - 178.4m, after which massive quartzites were drilled to the end of the hole at 213.5m.

Comments & Interpretation

The disseminated/fracture-controlled quartzite-hosted zinc mineralization drilled at Milagros-Sally is unusual in the District. The mineralization is blind at surface due to overlying Tertiary-age andesites of the Calipuy Formation, and is open to the south and west.  The potential to find additional bulk tonnage mineralization is believed to be high.

The high grade, massive sphalerite-galena mineralization drilled in DDH-11-03 at Santa Rosa occurs within the hangingwall of a northeast trending fault which forms a wider splay to the southwest dominated by stockwork mineralization over an area of approximately 30m x 40m. The zone has been mined almost to surface and is open at depth. Thick intervals of brecciated quartzites, drilled in all three holes, are the best host rocks for mineralization. Drilling from surface at Santa Rosa is challenging due to the nature of the host rocks and the underground workings, and further evaluation should be by underground drilling.

Background

The Santa Rosa property is located within the prolific Central Peru Polymetallic Belt, at an altitude of between 4,000m and 4,500m above sea level. Several world class silver, lead and zinc mines owned by major operators such as Pan American Silver, Buenaventura, Glencore and Volcan lie within a 50km radius of the property. Volcan, the world's fourth biggest silver and zinc producer, operates the high-grade Shalca Ag-Pb-Zn Mine which borders the Santa Rosa property on the northern end of the mineralized corridor.

The property underwent some small scale production in 2008, where ore grading 6 oz/t Ag, 8.75% Zn and 6.6% Pb was mined exclusively from the Santa Rosa and Milagros zones.

Focus can earn 100% of the property by making cash payments totaling US$9 million over 4 years to a local Peruvian company. For resources defined in Measured and Indicated categories in excess of 5 million tonnes, a royalty of US$1.19 per tonne will be payable.

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.

Sampling Quality Analysis and Quality Control

Core was first split in half using a diamond core splitter and then logged, and each box photographed prior to sampling. Half-core samples were bagged, security-sealed and transported by Focus personnel to ALS Chemex laboratories in Lima for analysis. Lead and zinc were determined by ICP with Atomic Absorption with volumetric finish.  Silver was determined by multi-acid digestion and ICP-AES, with fire assay gravimetric finish. Quality control by Focus involves the insertion by Focus personnel of blind certified standards and blanks into the sample stream at regular intervals in order to independently assess analytical precision and accuracy of each batch of samples as they are received from the laboratory. Finally, representative sample pulps are forwarded to an ISO-compliant third party laboratory for additional quality control. ALS Chemex's quality control system complies with International Standards ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 17025:2005. Analytical accuracy and precision are monitored by the analysis of reagent blanks, reference material and replicate samples.

About Focus Ventures

Focus Ventures is acquiring advanced, drill-ready projects in Peru and Mexico.  Backed by an experienced technical team of geologists and consultants, Focus's strategy is to identify and acquire former producing mines or untested gold and silver and base metal properties that show potential to become new mines. 

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

"David Cass"
David Cass, President

Contact:  Erin Ostrom / Ralph Rushton
Symbol: TSXV-FCV
Shares Issued: 29.3-million

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

Forward-Looking Statement
Some of the statements in this news release contain forward-looking information that involves inherent risk and uncertainty affecting the business of Focus Ventures Ltd.  Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statement.

SOURCE Focus Ventures Ltd.