Focus Provides Update on Nueva California Drilling

VANCOUVER , Feb. 11 /CNW/ - Focus Ventures Ltd. (TSX-V: FCV.V) is pleased to announce an update on the second-phase of diamond drilling at its Nueva California property, located some 35km north of Barrick Gold's Pierina Mine, near the town of Huaraz, Peru .

The program is designed to define a bulk tonnage gold-silver resource over the extent of the mine area. The first set of 8-10 holes is being drilled to provide a broad geological section over the 800m width of the deposit as defined by the underground workings. Four holes have been completed to date totalling 801m, with another 5 or 6 holes planned to complete the profile. Subsequent step-out holes will be drilled on a 100m grid. The first batch of drill results should be available in mid March.

Drilling will also test deep geophysical targets and more conceptual targets associated with a low angle regional fault believed to underpin the known mineralization at depths of 250m - 350m. The drill program is being carried out under the supervision of Mark Slauenwhite P.Geo., Focus's Vice-President of Exploration.

Background

The Property is located in the Cordillera Blanca, in north-central Peru at an altitude of 3,300m a.s.l. approximately 35km from Barrick Gold's Pierina mine. Artisanal underground and open pit mining operations commenced in 1983 exploiting a series of parallel northwest-southeast trending epithermal gold-silver mineralized zones with a reported head grade of 8 g/t Au and 120 g/t Ag. Gold and silver are produced on site via a small heap leach circuit and recovery plant. Mining has defined a mineralized zone some 800m wide, 400m along strike and open, and to depths of up to 100m.

Gold mineralization is associated with intensely altered granodiorite, sheared argillites and brecciated contact zones. Focus is the first company to drill test Nueva California, which has never been systematically explored, and is targeting bulk-tonnage gold-silver mineralization within the granodiorite wallrocks.

Encouraging results were received from a 400m, first-pass drill campaign by Focus which confirmed the presence of wide, potentially economic gold mineralization starting from surface (see press release October 26 , 2009). Highlights of this drilling included:

    
    -   69.6m grading 1.84 g/t Au* and 22 g/t Ag from surface in Hole DDH-
        NC-003
    -   38.2m grading 1.7 g/t Au and 20 g/t Ag from surface in Hole DDH-NC-
        002

        * Interval 2.70m - 3.6m assaying 171 g/t Au was capped at 30 g/t Au
            for the purposes of this calculation.
    

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.

About Focus Ventures

Focus Ventures is acquiring advanced, drill-ready projects in Peru . Backed by an experienced technical team of geologists and consultants, Focus's strategy is to identify and acquire former producing mines or un-tested gold properties that show potential to become new mines. The Nueva California Property is the Company's first acquisition. The Company was recently listed on the TSX Venture Exchange.

    
    ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

    "David Cass"
    David Cass, President

    Contact: Erin Ostrom, Ralph Rushton,
    Symbol: TSXV-FCV
    Shares Issued: 28.9-million
    

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

For further information: please call [phone] or visit our web site www.focusventuresltd.com