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Avrupa Minerals chief upbeat on Alvalade deal and upcoming newsflow

Last updated: 05:09 23 Jun 2017 AEST, First published: 00:09 23 Jun 2017 AEST

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Pictured is Portugal...

Paul Kuhn, chief executive of Avrupa Minerals Ltd (CVE:ARU), says the firm - a prospect generator - has had positive news in recent weeks and hopes to have plenty more coming up.

He was speaking to Proactive's Andrew Scott after his firm struck a deal, which sees it regain 100% of the Alvalade VMS (volcanogenic massive sulphide) copper, lead, zinc project in southern Portugal.

"We're really excited about it," said Kuhn.

With Avrupa's partners, there have been a couple of discoveries in the last 18 months at the project, but they were not advanced due to  the last partner not having  the funding to carry it through, he explained.

Avrupa acquired Alvalade in 2010 and initially optioned it out in 2012, and has been the operator since then.

It has now signed agreements with two former partners that transfer the outstanding 60% of the project back to Avrupa (which had 40%) in return for certain debts being forgiven for one and future success-based payments to another.

Avrupa now assumes a deposit on the project of €75,000 and must make the following payments to the initial partner in return for increasing its interest in the project to 100% - cash of US$250,000 on the filing of an initial NI 43-101 resource estimate.

It must also make staged cash payments totalling US$1mln on the completion of an NI 43-101 feasibility study meeting certain minimum criteria. It must also make staged cash payments totalling US$3mln on the start of commercial production.

But Kuhn said the whole deal would cost Avrupa "virtually nothing" over the next year or so.

He said the group's partners had previously spent over $7.5mln at Alvalade and there was a wealth of data Avrupa had access to.

To date, 54 holes have been drilled and more than 10 hit sulphides with various grades of copper, lead and zinc.

There are at least four other separate targets in the immediate Sesmarias area.

It was the geologists' equivalent of being a "kid in a candy store," suggested Kuhn.

There's a lot going on at the firm this summer. Earlier this month exploration at its Alvito iron oxide copper-gold (IOCG) project in Portugal started by partner Oz Minerals in a bid to identify targets.

In northern  Portugal, at the Covas joint venture, partner Blackheath Resources is planning further drilling.

Shares in Avrupa are currently changing hands at $0.10 in Toronto.

Drill targeting ‘going really well’ at Avrupa Minerals’ Alvito licence in...

Avrupa Minerals Ltd’s (CVE:AVU) chief executive Paul Kuhn and director Mark Brown update investors at Mines and Money 2017 in London. Kuhn tells Proactive that drilling at the Alvito iron oxide-copper-gold licence in Portugal has “gone really well” so far and is in good shape for further...

on 30/11/17