VANCOUVER, Feb. 6, 2012 — /PRNewswire/ – Focus Ventures Ltd. (TSX-V: FCV) is pleased to announce encouraging results from its first-phase exploration program at its 13,050 hectare Santa Cruz property in Durango, Mexico. The recent work has significantly upgraded the potential of Santa Cruz, which is now a priority project for Focus.

David Cass, President of Focus Ventures, comments: “Our initial results from several areas of this large land package are very encouraging. We are completely revising the geology at Santa Cruz and believe that the work will generate a new mineralization model and multiple drill targets. Although it’s early days, we believe that the precious metal mineralization at Santa Cruz shows characteristics similar to other recent bulk-tonnage silver discoveries in Mexico.”

Preliminary interpretation of the mineralization and alteration within a 9km x 2km corridor that cuts through the property has identified many characteristics of the upper parts of a potentially large, disseminated, silver-gold epithermal system. The mineralization at Santa Cruz was previously described as a system of epithermal veins. Several high priority targets are being defined for follow-up and drilling. A map of the property showing the key features and more detailed sampling results will be posted shortly on the Focus website at www.focusventuresltd.com. Highlights of the work include:

San Pablo – La Fragua – Orozco Trend

• Definition of a silver and gold mineralized trend some 2.3km long and at least 200m wide defined by surface rock chip sampling, soil geochemistry and 4 widely-spaced historic drill holes.
  
  
  



• Trench assays including 34m @ 65.8 g/t Ag + 0.2 g/t Au, and outcrop sampling of 539 g/t Ag + 4.57 g/t Au associated with advanced argillic alteration in andesite.
  
  
  



• Historic drill intercepts by Minco in 2005 include 58m @ 43 g/t Ag + 0.28% Zn and 34m @ 55.1 g/t Ag + 0.75% Zn.

The San Pablo – La Fragua – Orozco corridor is high priority for further trenching and drilling to test for a disseminated silver, gold and zinc deposit. Assay data from four holes drilled in 2005 to test for bonanza vein style mineralization at San Pablo, Las Trojas and Orozco was compiled. Although the drilling was widely spaced and did not adequately test the corridor, important mineralized intercepts were drilled in all holes. A large soil anomaly approximately 900m x 800m in the La Fragua – Don Blas area may reflect a semi-blind breccia pipe or deeper porphyry centre.

Historic Drill Intercepts – San Pablo – La Fragua – Orozco

* includes 22m @ 1.01% Zn from 98 – 120m

Don Blas Area

• Trench assays of up to 6m @ 445 g/t Ag + 0.2 g/t Au and 12m @ 34.7 g/t Ag.
  
  
  



• Strong silver-in-soil geochemistry, for example a new 280m x 600m anomaly with up to 35 g/t Ag in soils.

Further trenching and drilling is required to test the area.

El Padre Trend

• Underground sampling at El Padre included 775 g/t Ag + 0.2 g/t Au over 1.1m, 733 g/t Ag + 0.7 g/t Au over 1.8m, and 591 g/t Ag + 1.1 g/t Au over 2.3m.
  
  
  



• Sixty-seven surface and underground samples (vein and wallrocks) gave an average grade of 181 g/t Ag + 0.42 g/t Au (values from trace to 1460 g/t Ag and trace to 2.21 g/t Au). The El Padre vein has been traced for 1 km on surface in outcrops, soil anomalies, trenches and old workings.
  
  
  



• Discovery of several parallel gold mineralized trends to the north of El Padre by soils and trenching, for example 8m @ 3.75 g/t Au, including 2m @ 8.42 g/t Au.

Underground sampling over a 230m strike length has returned high grade Ag assays over widths from 0.5 up to 3m.

Sample Highlights – El Padre

A trench 600m west of El Padre yielded 8m @ 3.75 g/t Au, including 2m @ 8.42 g/t Au. Other high priority targets include a 40 – 100m wide >1ppm Ag in soil anomaly that occurs over 1.2km strike length to the north of El Padre along an east-west trending structure.

Work Undertaken by Focus

Focus completed historic data compilation, geological mapping over approximately 35km² of the claims, trenching, rock sampling and a grid-based soil geochemical survey. Some 2,062 soil grid geochemical samples were collected on a 400 x 200m grid to define extensions to mineralization within the 9km long mineralized trend. Over 1,000 rock samples were taken during the program and 17 trenches were dug and sampled. Alteration mapping was completed using a portable spectrometer. Interpretation of results is ongoing.

Background

The Santa Cruz project lies within the Silver Lake Trend, a polymetallic belt that hosts several operating and past producing gold and silver mines, including Goldcorp’s San Dimas epithermal gold-silver mine which is one of the most significant precious metal deposits in Mexico. District-wide historical production form this world-class belt is estimated at 655 million ounces (Moz) of silver and 9.33Moz of gold.

Under the terms of the Agreement with a local Mexican mining company, Focus has the option to acquire 80% of the Santa Cruz Project by defining 15Moz of Silver Equivalent resources in the Inferred Category within 4 years, and by paying the owner a total of $20,000,000 cash, of which $40,000 was paid on signing of the agreement, and $20,000 is payable every 6 months while the option is outstanding. Upon exercise of the option, Focus must pay the owner the remaining cash balance owing and grant the owner a 3% NSR on future production. The Agreement also grants Focus right of first preference to the historic Santa Cruz and Zambraneña mines (201 hectares) located in the west and central parts of the Santa Cruz Project.

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

Samples were prepared at ALS Chemex’s preparation facility in Zacatecas and analyzed in Vancouver, Canada. Silver was determined by multi-acid digestion and ICP-AES, with fire assay gravimetric finish. Gold was assayed by Atomic Adsorption Spectrometry with fire assay gravimetric finish. Lead and zinc were determined by ICP with Atomic Absorption with volumetric finish. 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. Quality control is further assured by Focus’s own QA/QC program which 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.

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. 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

Symbol: TSXV-FCV Shares Issued: 36.4-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 StatementSome 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.