Drilling Starts at Bayovar 12 Phosphate Project
March 03 2014 - 7:30AM
Marketwired
Drilling Starts at Bayovar 12 Phosphate Project
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Mar 3, 2014) - Focus
Ventures Ltd. (TSX-VENTURE:FCV) is pleased to announce that
drilling has commenced at the Bayovar 12 phosphate project. All
necessary approvals for the drill program have been received from
the Peruvian Authorities and two drills are currently on site.
Twenty holes will be drilled on a grid pattern over an area
approximately 14km2 (1,400 hectares) within the western end of the
12,575 hectare concession. The holes will be drilled vertically to
target phosphate beds within the Diana Formation, a sequence of
horizontally bedded diatomites and sandstones some 50m thick. The
phosphate beds lie between 30-50m below surface, and are typically
consistent in grade and continuous over long distances. These
phosphate units are currently being mined at the Bayovar Mine, a
joint venture between Vale, Mosaic and Mitsui, one of the biggest
phosphate deposits in South America, which is located 15km to the
west of Bayovar 12.
Management hopes that drilling at Bayovar 12 will lead to an
initial NI 43-101 compliant resource calculation. The conceptual
geological target size is between 80 - 100Mt of phosphate rock
grading between 12-18% P2O5 - roughly in line with the other known
deposits in the Bayovar district. (The reader is cautioned that
the potential quantity and grade is conceptual in nature, and there
has been insufficient exploration to define a mineral resource. It
is uncertain if further exploration will result in the target being
delineated as a mineral resource. The calculation is based on the
presence of at least 6 phosphate beds each averaging 0.75m width,
with a specific gravity of roughly 1.7, over an area of
approximately 14km2.)
Background
The Bayovar 12 concession shows potential to host a large
sedimentary phosphate deposit. The Bayovar district is situated in
the Sechura Desert, a north-trending basin approximately 22,000
square kilometres in area comprising Miocene-aged sedimentary
rocks. Phosphate was discovered in the 1950's during drilling for
petroleum. It occurs as beds of pelletal phosphate within the
Zapallal Formation, a thick sequence of diatomites and sandstones.
The phosphate layers are remarkably regular in P2O5 content over
long distances, a typical characteristic of marine phosphate
deposits. At Vale's Bayovar mine, the soft and friable nature of
the phosphate rock and diatomite permits mining by conventional
truck and shovel without the use of explosives.
On January 14, 2014, the Company's Peruvian subsidiary Agrifos
Peru S.A.C. signed a formal Option Agreement for the acquisition of
shares in Juan Paulo Quay S.A.C. ("JPQ"), the titleholders of the
Bayovar 12 non-metallic mining concession. The terms of the
Agreement were outlined in Focus's news release dated September 10,
2013. Agrifos can earn a 70% interest of the issued share capital
of JPQ by investing in exploration and making a series of cash
payments up to the completion of a positive pre-feasibility study,
after which Agrifos will have the first right of refusal to
purchase the remaining 30% of JPQ.
PDAC
Focus will be attending the annual PDAC conference at the Metro
Toronto Convention Centre (South Building) between 2 - 5th March
2014. Focus management will be available at Booth #3014 to update
shareholders and investors on the Company's plans and
activities.
Qualified Person
The scientific and technical information in this release was
prepared under the supervision of 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
Phosphate rock is a raw material for fertilizers and vital to
world food production. Focus is acquiring and developing quality
phosphate projects in Latin America where the discovery and
development of new deposits is becoming increasingly important
given the growing demand and limited local supply of phosphate for
fertilizer production. For further information, please call
604-630-5544 or visit our web site www.focusventuresltd.com.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
Ralph Rushton, Director
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 contains 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.
Focus Ventures Ltd.Ralph Rushton(604) 630-5544(604)
682-1514info@focusventuresltd.comwww.focusventuresltd.com
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