Avrupa Plans 4,000 Meters of Drilling at Slivovo, Reports Assays for SLV007 & 008

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Mar 17, 2015) - Avrupa Minerals Ltd. (TSX VENTURE:AVU)(FRANKFURT:8AM) -

Avrupa Minerals Ltd. is pleased to report on progress at the Slivovo JV project in Kosovo. The project is operated by Avrupa, and funded by partner, Byrnecut International Ltd. (BIL).

Paul W. Kuhn, President/CEO of Avrupa, commented, "We continue to be excited by the potential for significant gold mineralization at the Slivovo project. As we now better understand the geological and structural parameters, we will be more able to properly place the drill collars and set the direction of the drilling in the main Pester Gossan Zone. We are also excited about the presence of gold in the SW extension of the Gossan Zone and are looking forward to results from the upcoming drilling programs."

Assay results of holes SLV007-008

Holes SLV007 and SLV008 were drilled in the southwest extension of the Pester Gossan, located about 200 meters south of SLV004. SLV007 was drilled to a depth of 97.4 meters at a dip angle of -55 degrees through sediments to 70 meters depth and then through intrusive rocks (possibly a parallel-to-sedimentary-bedding sill) to the final 97.4-meter depth. SLV008 was drilled to a depth of 183.6 meters at a dip angle of -85 degrees (nearly vertical). Much of the rock in this hole was intrusive sill material, as in the bottom of SLV007. The follow-up detailed review of the drill core now indicates that both drill holes were drilled more or less along the strike of the sedimentary rocks and intrusive sill material.

SLV007 contained an intercept of 13.05 meters (from 16.00 to 29.05 meters) with an average gold value of 1.78 g/t Au, within a longer intercept of 53.6 meters (from 16.00 to 69.6 meters) with an average gold value of 0.91 g/t Au. Further sampling of this hole is in process, as the core contained anomalous gold all the way down to the bottom of the sampling interval.

SLV008 contained narrow intervals of strongly anomalous gold, including 2.65 meters (from 75.00 to 77.65 meters) with an average gold value of 1.06 g/t, within a much wider zone of gold anomalism. This hole will be re-sampled, as well, given the information obtained from the assays. Sampling of the intrusive sill rocks (from 89.60 to 183.60 meters) indicated low-moderate anomalism (up to 500-840 ppb) in gold values throughout the sill.

These holes are in addition to holes SLV004, SLV005, and SLV006, announced in December 2014 and late January 2015, which were drilled approximately 200-250 meters to the northeast in the main Pester Gossan zone and contained the following gold and silver assay intervals:

Geological model updated

Detailed review and re-logging of the core from the first eight holes at Slivovo is ongoing. The sedimentary beds hosting mineralization are strongly folded, but drilling in SLV004 crossed bedding at close to perpendicular, while SLV005 and SLV006 crossed bedding obliquely.

This detailed analysis also indicates that there are a number of phases of mineralization. The two most important are the early introduction of quartz-sericite-(gold-bearing) pyrite mineralization, and a subsequent strong acid leaching phase. This leaching phase liberated the gold from the pyrite and created spaces in the sedimentary rocks, allowing for the deposition of gold. In addition, there appears to be a strong correlation between gold values and those of accessory metals tellurium and bismuth, which is often indicative of epithermal/low temperature precious metals mineralization. It is not yet clear whether this is an additional phase of gold mineralization. A number of core samples are being analyzed to determine the characteristics of the gold mineralization and to begin a microscopic review of the history of the influx of mineralization.

Further, detailed follow-up mapping of the surface geology in the Gossan Zone will commence in the next few weeks, as the weather conditions permit. In addition to the Gossan Zone and the Dzemail area, the Avrupa team has identified at least three other target zones within the license boundaries.

Drill Program to start in April

Near-term plans are to re-start the drilling in the so-called "epithermal zone" -- now called by its locality name, the "Dzemail" (pronounced Jemahl) target area. Avrupa is planning four holes in the Dzemail area, totaling up to 1,000 meters, to test strong gold and base metal anomalism from soil and trench sampling. Possible mineralization may be hosted by altered sandstones, similar to those encountered in the Gossan Zone target area.

At Pester, Avrupa will contract another drill rig to commence second phase testing of the Main gossan zone area around SLV004. The Company plans to drill approximately 2,000 meters in the Main Zone and a further 1,000 meters of drilling in the SW extension of the Main Zone.

Notes on analytical methods and quality control. All samples were sent to the ALS Minerals sample preparation facility at Rosia Montana, Romania. ALS performed the gold analyses at Rosia Montana, using their standard Au-AA23 fire assay-atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) method on a 30-gram prepared sample. For the standard ME-MS61 multi-element analyses, ALS shipped the prepped material to their main European analytical laboratory located in Loughrea, Ireland, where all other metals' results were obtained using a four-acid digestion, followed by ICP-AES analysis for near-total results in all metals In addition to ALS Chemex quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) of all work orders, the Joint Venture conducted its own normal, internal QAQC from results generated by the systematic inclusion of certified reference materials, blank samples and field duplicate samples. The analytical results from the quality control samples in the SLV007/008 work orders have been evaluated, and conform to industry best practice standards.

Byrnecut International Limited is an Australian company engaged in mechanized underground mine feasibility, mine development, and mine production. This includes shaft sinking, shotcreting, raise-boring, the provision of high quality equipment rebuilds, maintenance engineering, labor hire and training for the mining industry, as well as mine engineering consultancy services. Principal customers include first world mine owners across the globe.

Avrupa Minerals Ltd. 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 10 exploration licenses in three European countries, including seven in Portugal covering 3,981 km², two in Kosovo covering 38 km², and one in Germany covering 307 km². Avrupa operates three joint ventures in Portugal and Kosovo, including:

Avrupa is currently upgrading precious and base metal targets to JV-ready status in a variety of districts on their other licenses, with the idea of attracting potential partners to project-specific and/or regional exploration programs.

For additional information, contact Avrupa Minerals Ltd. at 1-604-687-3520 or visit our website at www.avrupaminerals.com.

On behalf of the Board,

Paul W. Kuhn, President & Director

This news release was prepared by Company management, who take full responsibility for its content. Paul W. Kuhn, President and CEO 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 the scientific and technical content in the news release.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.