Focus Ventures Ltd. (TSXV: FCV) is pleased to announce encouraging results from surface sampling at the Don Blas target located on its Santa Cruz property, Durango, Mexico. The results of Focus’s initial sampling were announced on March 19, 2012 and included a 22m section that averaged 377.8 g/t Ag.
A total of 246 panel samples, averaging 2m x 0.4m, were collected from outcrops of breccia over an area of abrupt topography covering a 360m x 110m area, and returned silver values that ranged from trace to 317 g/t Ag. Sampled sections were orientated E-W to NE-SW perpendicular to the trend of the ridge. Although not all areas sampled are mineralized, weighted average grades gave significant and consistent values in silver over sample lengths of up to 25m long, with anomalous arsenic and barium but insignificant lead and zinc values. Maps and plans are available on the company website.
Sampling Highlights (Weighted Averages), Don Blas Breccia
| Sample ID |
Interval (m)
|
Ag (g/t)
|
| 28322 – 28330 |
14.2
|
41.8
|
| 28331 – 28334 |
8.7
|
87.6
|
| 28335 – 28339 |
10.9
|
64.1
|
| 28353 – 28363 |
21.6
|
33.2
|
| 28401 – 28402 |
3.45
|
101.3
|
| 28413 – 28418 |
11.6
|
47.1
|
| 28419 – 28423 |
9.3
|
26.8
|
| 28424 – 28432 |
16.25
|
63.1
|
| 28433 – 28441 |
20.4
|
16.8
|
| 29058 – 29062 |
10
|
17.2
|
| 29076 – 29082 |
13.5
|
25.2
|
| 29072 – 29075 |
7.8
|
96.8
|
The host breccia at Don Blas is composed of sub-angular clasts of basement slate, andesite and porphyritic rhyolite held in a sandy, coarse grained matrix. Silver mineralization is associated with strong to moderate clay alteration, weak silicification and micro-brecciation. The breccia is interpreted as phreatomagmatic in origin related to an intrusive flow dome complex.
Although controls on the mineralization are poorly understood, it could be related to a major NNE trending structure that bounds the breccia with altered andesite immediately west.
David Cass, President of Focus Ventures, comments: “We’re excited to discover this new style of disseminated silver-only mineralization on the Santa Cruz property, particularly in an area with no evidence of previous mining. It’s hosted within an unusual tuffaceous breccia unit and represents another priority disseminated silver target for drill testing in addition to the La Fragua, El Padre and Reventon Breccia targets. Also, we are making headway with our preparations for drilling with the signing of a formal access agreement with the local community at Santa Cruz, as part of the permitting process.”
Additional work is underway including extending the soil sampling to the south, detailed mapping and infill surface rock chip sampling
Background
The Santa Cruz and El Reventon Projects lie 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. Focus is developing a series of targets at Santa Cruz and Reventon that show potential to host bulk-tonnage high-grade and low-grade silver deposits. Drilling is planned for later in the year.
Mines and occurrences along the Santa Cruz Trend are hosted within Lower Volcanic Series andesites immediately below the contact of Upper Series Rhyolites. Work by Focus at Santa Cruz and Reventon has recognized both high grade and bulk-style precious metal mineralization associated with Laramide rhyolitic flow-domes. Mineralization includes breccia-hosted mineralization at Don Blas and at the Reventon Breccia. The stronger structurally controlled breccia mineralization at El Padre and La Fragua are aligned along a series of steep ENE trending structures that would have been re-activated a sinistral shears during Laramide NNE-SSW compression, and at Zambraneña NNW trending dextral shears.
Corporate Update
The Company is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Eduardo Duran Robles, who assumes management of the Company’s technical program at Santa Cruz. Mr. Duran is a geologist with over 38 years’ experience in Mexican mining and exploration, including 21 years with Grupo Frisco, and 10 years with Minorco / Anglo American. During his career, Mr. Duran has worked on a wide range of mines and ore deposits from surface exploration to resource modeling and feasibility.
In addition, the Company has cancelled 375,000 outstanding stock options, and has granted stock options to its directors, officers, employees and consultants to purchase up to a total of 1,475,000 shares of the Company exercisable for ten years at a price of $0.21 per share.
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.
Qualified Person
Mr. 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. Mr. Cass has reviewed and approved the technical information in this release.
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