August 24, 2012
Focus Ventures announces acquisition of Quebranta phosphate project
The acquisition of the Quebranta phosphate project, situated in the Ocucaje region approximately 300 kilometres south of Lima, along the coastal desert some 30 kilometres from tidewater, has been announced by Focus Ventures.
The project consists of 27,000 hectares acquired by direct staking. An additional 450 hectares were acquired under an option agreement signed with a local company and Agrifos Peru S.A.C (a subsidiary of Focus) where Agrifos can acquire 100% of the property by paying US$200,000 over three years and granting a 1% Net Profit Royalty on future production to the vendor.
The phosphate mineralisation at Quebranta is of marine sedimentary origin and is hosted within a sequence of Miocene sediments (Pisco Formation) comprising predominately diatomite with tuff and mudstone intercalations. Sampling of phosphatic sandstone units assayed from trace up to 16.5% P2O5. The geological setting and stratigraphy is analogous to the Sechura region, northern Peru that hosts Vale''s Bayovar Mine, an operating open pit mine and one of the biggest phosphate rock mines in the Americas with a reserve base of 247 tonnes and capable of producing 3.9 tonnes of phosphate concentrate per annum.
The Ocucaje region is poorly explored for phosphates although several old reports from the 1950''s and 60''s note the presence of phosphate mineralisation with assays of up to 31.8% P2O5. The planned work programme includes regional and local scale mapping, trenching and drilling.
The Quebranta project is Focus'' second Peruvian phosphate acquisition in addition to the Machay project located in central Peru where the company is developing a large district scale land package covering key phosphate bearing units with individual assays from trace up to 11.4 P2O5.
Phosphate is a key raw material for chemical fertilisers. Given the current global food crisis due to the world''s growing population and economic development, demand for worldwide fertilisers is expected to grow. Meeting future demand for phosphates will remain problematic due to the scarcity of resources, particularly in the Americas, and given the small number of producing countries.
Approximately 75% of global phosphate resources are from marine sedimentary phosphate deposits. As these deposits are syngenetic, formed by the accumulation of organic debris on an ancient sea floor, they tend to cover large areas and are relatively consistent in grade and thickness. This type of mineralisation is typically amenable to beneficiation with good recoveries to produce marketable concentrate grades.
David Cass, Focus''s President, is a member of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia, and a "Qualified Person" in accordance with NI 43-101. Cass has reviewed and approved the technical information in this release.
Focus Ventures is developing a diversified portfolio of quality silver, gold, copper and phosphate properties 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.
Focus Ventures is dedicated to the discovery and definition of quality mineral resources in Peru and that show potential to become new mines.