Focus stakes phosphate claims in central Peru

Vancouver-Focus Ventures Ltd. has announced that it has staked a large property package prospective for phosphates near the towns of Tarma and La Oroya in central Peru, roughly 200 km east of Lima. During the course of ongoing property evaluations for precious and base metals, the company identified an opportunity to acquire a land position in central Peru covering the trend of the phosphate-bearing Aramachay Formation, a Jurassic-aged sedimentary unit. Focus says a number of old geological reports written in the early 1960s for the Cerro de Pasco Corp. highlighted numerous phosphate occurrences in the Tarma-La Oroya region hosted within the Aramachay Formation. Stonegate Agricom’s Mantoro phosphate deposit near Sincos is hosted by the same unit, approximately 30 km to the southeast. To date, Stonegate has outlined measured and indicated resources of 39.5 million mt at 10 percent P₂O₅ and inferred resources of 376.3 million mt at 9 percent P₂O₅. Given this increase in demand, and Focus’s presence on the ground in Peru, the company made applications for 26 concessions covering roughly 16,600 hectares, now known as the Machay Property. Sixteen of the concessions have been granted, and the other 10 are pending registration. The claims are strategically located near the La Oroya metallurgical complex, a potential source of sulfuric acid for fertilizer production.