Drilling Starts at Bayovar 12 Phosphate Project

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - March 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 - 5^th 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.