Avrupa to sell 51% interest in Portuguese properties

Mar 6, 2018

2018-03-05 13:36 ET – News Release

Mr. Paul Kuhn reports

AVRUPA SIGNS NON-BINDING LETTER OF INTENT TO OPTION OUT PYRITE BELT COPPER-ZINC LICENSES IN PORTUGAL

Avrupa Minerals Ltd. has signed a non-binding letter of intent with a subsidiary of an international mining company to option out three exploration projects located in the Pyrite belt of southern Portugal. The financing partner will provide a first-stage earn-in amount of 13 million euros (approximately $20.3-million) for exploration programs over the next three years to acquire a 51-per-cent interest in the projects. The parties are currently finalizing a definitive agreement for each of the licences.

Figures associated with this news release are available on-line.

Paul Kuhn, president and chief executive officer of Avrupa Minerals, stated: “We have worked for a long time to get to this point where we can move ahead rapidly on these VMS (volcanogenic massive sulphide) projects. Our new partner will provide funding and expertise for the exploration programs, and will provide superior technical experience to develop potentially large-scale mining operations. Our licences cover some of the most prospective areas of the Pyrite belt in Portugal, and we look forward to following up on our successful drill intercepts from three years ago.”

The letter of intent includes the following earn-in terms:

Alvalade:
- For 51 per cent of the licence, spend 10 million euros over the next three years (including 30,000 metres of drilling);
- For an additional 24 per cent, for a total of 75 per cent, produce a feasibility study on any one particular project within the licence area by the end of the pre-exploitation licence period, or by the end of 2023, whichever is earliest;
Marateca:
- For 51 per cent of the licence, spend two million euros over the next two years, including 10,000 metres of drilling;
- For an additional 9 per cent, for a total of 60 per cent, spend four million euros over the following two years, including a minimum of 10,000 metres of drilling;
- For a further 10 per cent, for a total of 70 per cent, produce a prefeasibility study on any one particular project within the licence area by the end of 2023;
Mertola:
- For 51 per cent of the licence, spend one million euros by the end of the exploration licence period in 2019, including at least 2,000 metres of drilling;
- For an additional 9 per cent, for a total of 60 per cent, spend two million euros within two years of the start of the pre-exploitation licence, including a minimum of 6,000 metres of drilling;
- For a further 10 per cent, for a total of 70 per cent, produce a prefeasibility study within three years of the 60-per-cent earn-in, or by the end of the pre-exploitation licence period, on any one particular project within the licence area.

Avrupa considers the three licence areas to be highly prospective for copper and zinc. The Iberian pyrite belt (IPB) of Spain and Portugal reportedly hosts/hosted approximately two billion metric tonnes of massive sulphide material from over 85 known prospects, former producers, and presently producing mines, all located within the VS (volcano-sedimentary) rock formation that runs from Seville, Spain, to near Lisbon, Portugal. Large mining operations in the IPB are currently located at Neves Corvo and Aljustrel in Portugal, and Rio Tinto, Aguas Tenidas, Magdalena, Sotiel and Las Cruces in Spain. Aznalcollar, in Spain, is currently in development status.

The Alvalade licence contains past copper-zinc-iron producers at the Lousal and Caveira mines, two Avrupa mineral discoveries at Sesmarias, and Monte da Bela Vista, and at least 35 additional, potentially drillable massive sulphide targets around the licence.

The Mertola licence covers past-producers at Sao Domingos and Chanca, brownfields targets at both locations, and greenfields targets at Serra Branca and Alcaria Ruiva, as well as a number of other locations. Much of the licence still needs first-pass reconnaissance and prospect work.

The Marateca licence is a greenfields exploration project with at least 10 known outcropping or subcropping target areas located across the property, along with long strike lengths of buried VS target rocks between the outcropping targets.

About Avrupa Minerals Ltd.

Avrupa Minerals is a growth-oriented junior exploration and development company focused on discovery, using a prospect generator model, of valuable mineral deposits in politically stable and prospective regions of Europe, including Portugal, Kosovo and Germany.

The company currently holds nine exploration licences in three European countries, including six in Portugal covering 3,271 square kilometres, two in Kosovo covering 47 square kilometres, and one in Germany covering 307 square kilometres. Avrupa now has three active option and joint venture agreements, two in Portugal and one in Kosovo, including:

The Alvito option agreement with Oz Minerals covering one licence in the Ossa Morena zone in southern Portugal, for IOCG deposits;
The Covas joint venture, with Blackheath Resources, covering one licence in northern Portugal, for intrusion-related W deposits;
Avrupa’s partner at the Slivovo gold project in Kosovo is fully financing the program, allowing Avrupa to dilute its ownership in the JV operating company Peshter Mining JSC. If AVU ownership goes below 10 per cent, the interest in the project converts to a 2-per-cent net smelter return.

This news release was prepared by company management, who take full responsibility for its content. Mr. Kuhn, president and chief executive officer of Avrupa Minerals, a licensed professional geologist and a registered member of the Society of Mining Engineers, is a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 of the Canadian Securities Administrators. He has reviewed the technical disclosure in this release. Mr. Kuhn, the QP, has not only reviewed, but prepared and supervised the preparation or approval of the scientific and technical content in the news release.

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