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Avrupa Minerals LTD (TSX: AVU) Expands Silver and Gold Projects to Kosovo and Portugal into Areas that Have Not Seen Modern Exploration

on 4/23/2016
Avrupa Minerals LTD (TSX: AVU) is a Canadian prospect generator currently expanding into previously unexplored areas including Kosovo and Portugal, enjoying government support and political stability and establishing joint ventures to move forward with several ongoing projects. Paul Kuhn, President and CEO of Avrupa Minerals and his team have made two discoveries in the last two years. Avrupa is bringing new ideas and expertise to the old mining districts. When I speak with Paul I’m filled with great confidence in his approach and exploration of mineral properties.



Paul Kuhn, President and CEO of Avrupa Minerals, spoke with Dr. Allen Alper at PDAC 2016 to update readers and investors on the progress that the company has been making on their silver and gold exploration in areas such as Kosovo and Portugal. Mr. Kuhn said “Kosovo is interesting to us because it is one of those areas in Europe that we have identified as being a safe political area in an old extensive mining district. The Vardar Trend or the Vardar zone which runs through Kosovo has been mined periodically since pre-Roman times. In Kosovo there are old Roman workings and old Saxon workings from the 1300s to the 1400s, but there hasn’t been any systematic regional exploration since, certainly no modern exploration, and we are the first modern explorers to do any type of systematic work down there.”



Mr. Kuhn’s work with his team has led to a project as well as a JV partner to move it forward into more advanced exploration. He said, “During our regional exploration work, we discovered the Slivovo prospect in 2012 and then found a partner in early 2014 to invest in the project. Since startup of the JV, Byrnecut International has spent two million euros to earn 75% of the project. They are now operating a prefeasibility study. The Slivovo project is a small, high grade gold and silver project. If possible to mine it, it will be surface minable. It appears to be part of a much larger system but we haven’t done any exploration in any other part of the system. Our partner is moving ahead quickly. So, further exploration will be limited to prefeasibility-style drilling and condemnation work, as well as property-wide geophysical surveys. We expect them to fast track the PFS. We think it will be done by the middle of next year, and at the same time our partner will be working on a mining license application.”



The company has been happy with the response of the Kosovo government in allowing them to complete mining operations in the country. Mr. Kuhn said “So far, operating in Kosovo has been relatively easy. They have been pretty supportive. We get a lot of help and support from the Mining Bureau, known as the Independent Commission on Mines and Mining (ICMM). The ICMM board members were all here at the PDAC a couple of days ago. We met with them, while the Canadian Trade Commissioner’s office organized a larger country presentation which included discussions with the Minister of Economic Development. So we are working in Kosovo, and they clearly want us there. There is not a lot of money in the country, and if our partner builds a mine in Kosovo, it will be a $50 to $75 million euro investment in the country. Beyond that, once you start mining, you have all of the revenues coming in. They seem to want us there, and we are the only explorationists in the country right now. Once we are done with the permitting, we will go back to exploring.”

The company is also working in Portugal, which is another country that hasn’t had much formal mining exploration in the past generation. Mr. Kuhn said, “Portugal is another country that we have identified as being safe to work in with a mineral endowment that has not been explored properly. We have found lots of opportunity in the Iberian Pyrite Belt, which runs from basically Lisbon to Seville in Spain. We are presently working on the Avalade Project with Colt Resources. The present work is based on a greenfields discovery that we made in 2014. We completed the first part of the drilling in November, and we are planning to start up the second phase in May. We have another 2,500-3,000 meters planned, and we would like to increase the size and grade at the Sesmarias target, as well as test a few more targets in the same general area as the 2014 discovery. We are also looking for joint ventures on two other properties in the Pyrite Belt. We already have a subsurface copper target on the Mertola license, and an outcropping 1,000 meter long gossan zone on the Marateca license.”



Mr. Kuhn and his team have taken an innovative approach to their definition of the targets. Instead of leaning on work that had already been done, they are working on their own data analysis of the project. He said, “Our thesis on these licenses is that we must redo the geology on these licenses. Good mapping and good geology can make a real difference on our results. This has resulted in one discovery at Sesmarias, and we think we can do the same thing again at Mertola and Marateca. We have a third license called Alvito, which is an iron oxide copper gold (IOCG) target. It is a new style of target for Portugal, and has a large footprint. It has never been previously tested. The Alvito license covers over 700 square kilometers, and has other untested targets, as well. So far, at the Alcaçovas IOCG target, we have copper mineralization on 25 of 30 shallow test holes to bedrock under the soil cover. We still have more holes to drill at the Alcaçovas target, and then we will drill deeper. It is a Candelaria-type and sized IOCG target, and we are just beginning to test it. We are looking for JV partners. That is my job at this meeting, to look for a new joint venture partner to join us.”



Mr. Kuhn has a great deal of confidence in his team. He said, “My team has done a great job. We made two discoveries in the last two years. Our discoveries all have the same attributes that Alvalade did. We have copper mineralization at or close to the surface. There is an old mine on the Mertola. Here, only one massive sulfide lens was mined, and in the Pyrite Belt, none of these deposits have just one lens. So, we think there is more out there. In addition to great potential on our licenses, we are also showcasing our knowledge and alternative thinking in a mining district that has not been well-explored in a generation. Our interpretations are totally different the historic work. We are thinking in the same way at the IOGC target, as well. It is a large company-sized possibility in a place where it is easy to work. The government is supportive. It is a great place to work.”

http://www.avrupaminerals.com/

Avrupa Minerals
Head Office
410-325 Howe Street
Vancouver, BC V6C 1Z7 Canada
Phone: +1-604-687-3520
Fax: +1-888-889-4874
Email: info@avrupaminerals.com


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