Focus Samples 8m @ 386 g/t Ag & 6m @ 1,282 g/t Ag at Santa Cruz

VANCOUVER, March 19, 2012 /CNW/ - Focus Ventures Ltd. (TSXV: FCV) is pleased to announce more rock chip channel sampling results from ongoing exploration at its 13,050 hectare Santa Cruz property in Durango, Mexico. Mapping, trenching and sampling continue to identify new silver targets, and work is focusing on potentially bulk-tonnage high-grade and low-grade silver systems.

David Cass, President of Focus Ventures, comments: "Our work at Santa Cruz continues to yield good results. As our geological understanding of the district has developed we've been able to identify far more mineralization than was known when first we acquired the property last year, and we have begun to define drill targets at El Padre, La Fragua and Don Blas. The presence of both disseminated and high-grade mineralization, within a range of rock and alteration types over a corridor of at least a 9km strike length, are all indicative of a large mineralized system at Santa Cruz."

Don Blas

Continuous surface channel sampling of an altered breccia unit associated with a strong silver-in-soil anomaly (see Focus release dated Feb. 6, 2012) has returned significant silver assays. A 22m section averaged 377.8 g/t Ag, with individual assays ranging from 14.1 g/t Ag to 2,350 g/t Ag over 2m, with a median value of 52 g/t. This included an uncut high grade interval of 6m assaying 1,282 g/t Ag (individual 2m assays of 1,440 g/t Ag, 57.2 g/t Ag & 2,350 g/t Ag).

The breccia is interpreted to be phreatomagmatic in origin similar to a mineralized breccia observed at the La Renata workings some 1.6km to the south. The controls on the mineralization are poorly understood and further work is needed to understand whether it is related to mineralized clasts within the breccia which may reflect a deeper target at depth, or if it is related to structure. Additional work is underway including extending the soil sampling to the south, detailed mapping and infill surface rock chip sampling.

El Padre

Focus's geologists extended a trench located some 160m west of the El Padre mine workings. Sampling of the extension returned a grade of 8m @ 386 g/t Ag and 0.18 g/t Au in hydrothermal breccias. The zone is along strike of the El Padre trend and extends the projected strike length of this important structure to 1.8km.

Underground sampling of the El Padre vein where it is exposed in the new third level of the mine gave 214 g/t Ag and 0.65 g/t Au over 1.1m, with 38.6 g/t Ag and 0.4 g/t Au over 1.5m in the immediate footwall of the structure. This demonstrates that the high grade structure has a vertical continuity of at least 150m from surface. The persistence of only very low base metals in the sampling to date is indicative that the current level of the El Padre structure is fairly high up in the mineralizing system and there is good potential of the high-grade zone to continue to depth.

The El Padre trend is rapidly evolving as a robust high-grade target for resource definition drilling, in addition to the Don Blas and La Fragua trends which show potential for both high grade and disseminated silver deposits.

Maps, plans and assay results are available on the Focus website at www.focusventuresltd.com.

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 the La Ciénega, Topia, San Dimas and Metates deposits. District-wide historical production from this world-class belt is estimated at 655 million ounces (Moz) of silver and 9.33Moz of gold.

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 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.

Contact:  Jaclyn Ruptash
Tel: [phone];   Fax: [phone]
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.focusventuresltd.com