Focus Ventures eyes Bayóvar 12 phosphate production by 2017

Vancouver-based Focus Ventures is looking to start phosphate production at its Bayóvar 12 project in Peru's Piura region by 2017, which would make it the country's second producer of the fertilizer, company president David Cass said.

Focus is completing another 42 holes in a second stage aimed at doubling resources and producing a preliminary economic assessment by August, Cass told BNamericas. Jacobs, Golders Engineering and M3MG are working on the PEA study.

The company, which has lined up about 200Mt of resources at the 12,575ha property after drilling 20 holes in a first stage program, is looking to start early production of direct application phosphate rock within the next 18 months, Cass said. A small scale mine could cost as little as US$20mn, which could be financed on markets in Canada and London, he said.

The property located near Vale's Bayóvar mine, as well as projects by Cementos Pacasmayo and Americas Petrogas, may develop synergies with Pacasmayo's Fospac unit after holding talks with the Lima-based company, Cass said.

Bayóvar 12 could produce 300,000-1Mt/y and would seek to use already existing infrastructure, such as partner Juan Pablo Quay, which operates a small port in the region, he said. The company believes phosphate prices will rise above current rates of US$115/t due to increasing demand for the fertilizer in countries such as India, Cass said.

"We will need a partner for a big concentrate mine, it's a large capex project, but something like a small project is doable in Canada and London," Cass said in an interview on the sidelines of the ProExplo conference in Lima. "The phosphate price is strengthening and the fundamentals are looking very good."

Cass, a 25-year veteran geologist who formerly worked at Anglo American and BP Minerals, has headed Focus since 2008. Focus is part of the Gold Group, an alliance that includes Canadian miners Fortuna Silver Mines, Radius Gold, Medgold Resources and Rackla Metals

Vale has been producing about 4Mt/y of phosphates at the neighboring Bayóvar mine since 2010.