AVPMF - Avrupa Minerals Announces Updated Slivova Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE)

(TheNewswire)

• Global in situ gold resource increases by 78% overoriginal MRE

• Global in situ silver resource increases by 113% overoriginal MRE

• New MRE figures:

  • Measured Resources:  835,000 mt @ 4.3 g/t Au and 15g/t Ag

  • Indicated Resources:  296,000 mt @ 3.6 g/t Au and 15g/t Ag

  • Inferred Resources:  250,000 mt @ 3.7 g/t Au and 13g/t Ag

• 4,500-meter drilling program plannedfor the next phase of field work, which will include resource infilldrilling and exploration drilling around the license

Vancouver, BC - TheNewswire - July 17, 2023 - Avrupa Minerals Ltd. (TSXV:AVU ) is pleased to announce that its partner at theSlivova Gold Project in Kosovo, Western Tethyan Resources (WTR), hasprovided a new Mineral Resource Estimate and general near-term workplan for the gold-silver deposit.  Slivova is located in the prolificVardar Mineral Trend, about 30 km SE of the capital, Pristina.  WTRcan earn-in to 75% of the Project by funding exploration anddevelopment for Euro 1,800,000 over three years, and then a further10% by making certain milestone and success payments, producing anEnvironmental Impact Statement, delivering a Feasibility Study, andcompleting a Mining License application.

Paul W. Kuhn, President and CEO of Avrupa Minerals,commented:

“We are truly excited about thisnew development in the progress of the Slivova Project, and lookforward to continued success in the program.  WTR and its associatedcompany, Ariana Resources, are working hard to advance the Project tothe next level.  We expect further information concerning progress,as the two companies work to complete a Preliminary EconomicAssessment for Slivova in the coming months and begin a 4,500-meterdrilling program to further define the Slivova deposit and test otherattractive, previously-identified possibilities around thelicense.”

Dr. Kerim ?ener, Managing Director of ArianaResources, provided further information:

“Weare very pleased to provide a substantial resource update on theSlivova Gold Project in Kosovo.  With a Measured and IndicatedResource of 146,000 oz of gold and 546,000 oz of silver, and anInferred Resource of another 30,000 oz of gold and 100,000 oz Ag inglobal resources now defined, Slivova is now well on track to bedeveloped conceptually as a high-grade, open-pit and undergroundmining operation.

We are increasingly confident thatfurther resource expansion will occur as exploration proceeds at thesite in the upcoming years.  Several exploration targets in theimmediate vicinity require follow-up and drill-testing, and thebroader project area contains significant exploration potential forsimilar mineralisation based on the latest regional BLEGstream-sediment results.

We are firmly in the planning stagefor a new drilling programme at Slivova, which will be focused in parton resource infill and extensional drilling.  We are targeting aminimum resource of 200,000 oz of gold prior to the initiation of moreadvanced project development work, which would include more advancedstudies.”

Mentor Demi, Managing Director of Western TethyanResources added:

“Western Tethyan Resources is veryexcited to announce a significant resource increase for the Slivovagold deposit. The resource growth came mostly from the incorporationof the new historical drilling data and the revision of the geologyand resource interpretation and model.

Based on the current resources’size, Slivova represents a very prospective, undeveloped gold project,in Kosovo.

Slivova is well on its way tobecoming an advanced project, yet with a lot of exploration upside,down dip from the current resource, as well as from the surroundingsatellite prospects. WTR is looking forward to starting in Q3 with theexploration program, Environmental Impact Assessment, and SocialEngagement Plan following recommendations from the PreliminaryEconomic Assessment.”

The following information is a Summary of the MineralResource Estimate, provided by Mr. RichardSiddle, MAIG, of Addison Mining Services Ltd., an IndependentQualified Person, as defined by Canadian NI 43-101 regulations.  Withthe publication of this document, the full MRE must be publicly filedwithin 45 days.

Introduction

Between October 2022 and June 2023, the Western Tethyanand Ariana teams completed detailed field, drill core and digital datareviews of all information attributed to the Slivova Project and itsMineral Resources. Mineral Resources have been estimated by Mr.Richard Siddle, MAIG, of Addison Mining Services Ltd., an IndependentQualified Person as defined by Canadian NI 43-101.

The Slivova gold and silver deposit, consists ofintrusive-related, stratiform massive to disseminated gold-bearing andbase metal mineralogy hosted in Cretaceous-aged calcareous sediments.The mineralisation occurs as disseminated to massive replacement ofcalcareous sandstone to pebble conglomerate and minor replacement oflimestone, associated with pyrite, pyrrhotite, arsenopyrite, andbase-metal sulphides. Lithological control and structural featuresappear to have played a major role in focusing the alteration andmineralisation, both as fluid pathways and fluid retardants.

The Slivova Project exploration license is locatedalong the Vardar Trend, approximately 30km SE of Pristina, the capitalcity of Kosovo (Figure 1).

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Figure 1: TheSlivova deposit (Peshter Target), and its associated licenseboundary.

Slivova Mineral ResourceEstimate

Mineral Resources have been estimated for the Slivovadeposit (Peshter Target) only. No Mineral Resources have as yet beendeclared for other targets within the Slivova Project, such asDzemajl, Valiaviste and Brus.

The estimated Mineral Resource for Slivova is reportedin accordance with CIM Definition Standards, comprising of ananticipated open-pittable portion and an anticipated undergroundextraction portion reported above appropriate cut-off gradesreflecting each anticipated mining type. Identification of materialwhich has a reasonable prospect of eventual economic extraction issupported by existing metallurgical test work and an ongoingPreliminary Economic Analysis by Bara Consulting Ltd of the UK.

Mineralisation and block models for the MineralResource Estimate were informed by data from 62 surface drillholesover a total of 6,640m performed between 2014 and 2018 by the previousexplorer, Innomatik Exploration Kosova (IEK). The hole spacing for thedeposit is approximately 15m north by 15m east in the core of thedeposit, extending to 30m north x 30m east towards the edges (Figure2). Sample spacing and distribution are considered sufficient toestablish the geological and grade continuity required for modellingand resource estimation. Gold and silver have been estimated as miningproducts, with no by-products or deleterious elements modelled.

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Figure 2: Summary map of the various phases of drilling completed within theSlivova Project area. Some drill collars in the core of the depositare not visible at this scale. WGS84 Z34N.

The drill database was validated prior to resourceestimation and quality control (QC) checks were made usingindustry-standard control charts for blanks, core duplicates andcommercially certified reference material inserted into assay batches.The Qualified Person has reviewed the QC data and has found itsuitable for use in Mineral Resource Estimation. Additionally, theassay database was reconstructed from the original assay certificatesto increase confidence in the final assay database used in theresource estimation.

Geological Modelling

The mineralisation is understood to be typicallydefined as a single identifiable unit, and geologically constrained(e.g., higher grades are noted in some cases to be associated withcoarser grained ‘pebble conglomerates’). The steeply-dipping,intercalated pebble and cobble conglomerates, sandstone and minorsiltstone beds are thought to control the mineralisation through theirdifferent porosity and permeability characteristics. The geologicalmodel as applied to the Mineral Resource Estimate comprises a singledomain plunging to the east-southeast, the strike of which iscontrolled by the host rocks (Figure 3).

The Slivova geological modelling used a combination ofsurface mapping data, structural measurements, geophysics, geologicalinterpretations, and multi-element geochemical analysis in conjunctionwith date derived from diamond drill holes across the deposit area.Interpretations of geological surfaces are derived from 3D implicitmodelling of drill hole data in Leapfrog GEO and EDGE v. 2023.1.0using the software’s ‘intrusion’ function to generate anencapsulating volume over economically defined drill composites(Figure 3).  All wireframes have been clipped to thetopography.

A mineralised wireframe at a cut-off of approximately0.2g/t Au was used to distinguish mineralised and unmineralisedmaterial. Grade continuity within the interpreted mineralised zones isgenerally robust. Where continuity was not established betweensections, the strike extrapolation was limited both manually(wireframes) and statistically (interpolations). While  higher-gradesub-populations of 3-10 g/t Au and above 10g/t Au are inferred fromthe data distribution inspection, the drill core indicated that thiscould not reliably be modelled, and as such an indicator krigingapproach was adapted during block model estimation.

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Figure 3: 3Dview of the modelled mineralised volume looking north. WGS84Z34N.

The mineralisation broadly follows anorthwest-southeast trend, as supported by structural measurementsboth in outcrop and on oriented core. The mineralisation outcrops atsurface with visible sulphides in the exposure. The mineralised zoneis approximately 260m along strike and 70m wide and covers an area ofapproximately 1.7 hectares.  The Mineral Resources extend fromsurface to a depth of approximately 200 metres, plunging forapproximately 300 metres to the east-southeast with a vertical extentof 100-150 metres and is typically 50 to 100 metres wide.Mineralisation is closed by drilling to the north, south and east,however, remains open down plunge to the east-southeast. The northerncontact of the mineralisation is interpreted to be controlled by abounding fault.

Estimation Methodology

The block model was prepared using Micromine Origin andBeyond version 2023, Services Pack 4 (Figure 4). A 5m x 5m x 5m blockmodel was created with sub-blocks of minimum size 1m x 1m x 1m ondomain boundaries. Grade estimation from 2m composites was carried outusing median indicator kriging (mIK) for gold and using ordinarykriging for silver. The model was validated by comparison of input andoutput statistics, de-clustering, kriging neighbourhood analysis andby inspection of the assay data and block model incross-section.

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Figure 4: Oblique view of the block model showing the estimated gold grades.WGS84 Z34N.

The density database contains 2,472 bulk densitydeterminations of which 1,222 fall within the mineralised domain.Values within the domain were interpolated into each block usinginverse distance weighting to a power of 2 with a lower limit of1.5t/m 3 and capped at 3.8t/m 3 .

Slivova Mineral ResourceClassification

Mineral Resources were classified according to theQualified Persons’ view of the accuracy of the estimates and thequality and confidence of data underpinning them. Mineral Resourceclassification considered the data quality, spacing and krigingstandard error statistic (SE). Measured Mineral Resources aresupported in the part of the deposit with the closest spaced drillingwhere the SE is <0.3 and blocks are informed by three or more drillholes with spacing typically less than 15m. Indicated MineralResources were classified where the SE was >0.4 and the averagedata spacing was typically less than 25m. The remaining blocks wereclassified as Inferred Mineral Resources including the down plungeportion of the deposit which is largely informed by two drill holesand is extrapolated by approximately 55m.

The Mineral Resource Estimate has an effective date of22 June 2023, superseding the previous Mineral Resource Estimate whichhad an effective date of 31 May 2016.  The Mineral Resource Estimatefor Slivova is reported in Table 1, which was completed 14 July2023.

No estimates of Mineral Reserves have been prepared.Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves and do not havedemonstrated economic viability. The estimate of Mineral Resources maybe materially affected by environmental, permitting, legal, title,taxation, socio-political, marketing, or other relevant issues. TheQualified Person is not aware of any such issues at the time ofwriting.

Table 1: Estimated Mineral Resources for Slivova. Numbers are rounded to anappropriate number of significant figures and as such discrepanciesmay exist between individual values, products and totals.

Notes to the Mineral ResourceEstimate (1-9):

1. The independent Qualified Personresponsible for Mineral Resource disclosure, as defined by NI 43-101,is Mr. Richard Siddle, MSc, MAIG, of Addison Mining Services Ltd. Theeffective date of the Mineral Resource Estimate is 22 June2023.

2. Mineral Resources are not MineralReserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. There is nocertainty that all or any part of the Mineral Resource will beconverted to Mineral Reserves.

3. A gold equivalent (AuEq) grade wascalculated for each block using the formula AuEq = (Ag g/t x 0.05) +Au g/t. It is the opinion of the Qualified Person that all elementsincluded in the Au Equivalent calculation have a reasonable prospectof being recovered and sold, the calculation of the Au equivalentvalue considers the relative recovery and payability of each element(recovery by cyanide leaching of 93.4% for gold and 50% for silver and95% and 85% payability, respectively, as informed by metallurgicaltest work completed to date) as well as the assumed commodity prices.

4. Reasonable prospects of eventualeconomic extraction are satisfied by the estimation of break-evencut-off grades for each anticipated mining scenario (0.5g/t AuEq foropen pit and 1.5g/t AuEq for underground mining). These cut-off gradeswere used to report the Mineral Resource. The cut-off grades wereestimated on the basis of the following assumptions: a gold price ofUS$1850/oz (selected following consideration of (1, 2 and 3 yeartrailing average LMBA gold price and LMBA 2023 average forecast goldprice, a silver price of US$20/oz, underground mining costs ofUS$43.7/t, processing costs (including tailings disposal) of US$29.5/tand GA costs of US$3/ROMt.

5. Estimates in the above table havebeen rounded to three significant figures for Measured and IndicatedResources and two significant figures for Inferred MineralResources.

6. CIM Definition Standards for MineralResources have been followed.

7. The independent Qualified Person forResources is not aware of any additional known environmental,permitting, legal, title, taxation, socio-political, marketing, orother relevant issues that could materially affect the MineralResource Estimate.

8. The Mineral Resource figures set outabove are quoted gross with respect to the Project. WTR of whichAriana owns 75%, has yet to establish a net attributable interestunder the Earn-in and accordingly, no separate net attributablefigures are reported.

9. Western Tethyan Resources is theoperator of Slivova

Additional drilling is required to increase theconfidence in the Mineral Resources in the Indicated and particularlyInferred parts of the resource estimate. Increased levels ofinformation brought about by further drilling may serve to eitherincrease or decrease the estimate of Mineral Resources. It isreasonably expected that the majority of Inferred Mineral Resourcescould be upgraded to Indicated Mineral Resources with continuedexploration.  A 4,500-metre drilling programme has been planned forthe next phase of resource infill and exploration work atSlivova.

Comparison to Previous MineralResources

A resource estimate was completed by Mining Plus forSlivova as part of the 2016 NI43-101 Study on the project (Table 2).The most significant change is the upgrade of Mineral Resources fromthe Indicated category to the Measured category.

• 115% increase in total tonnes

• 17% decrease in gold grade but a 78% increase in totalgold ounces

• 1% decrease in silver grade but a 113% increase intotal silver ounces

There was a slight decline in the gold grade due toextending the model in areas showing grade continuity, but at a lowergrade. This increased the number of ounces and tonnage as the resultof extrapolating the resource with the additional drilling. The 2016estimate did not include any of the 2016 drill program data and, assuch, a detailed comparison is less meaningful. Changes in theestimate, including classification, grade and contained metal canlargely be attributed to the inclusion of additional data andincreased confidence in the model due to better understanding of thegeology and the outcomes of the in-depth QC review and reviewinglaboratory assay certificates in detail.

Table 2: Mineral Resources reported in the 2016 NI43-101 study. The MineralResources were reported at a cut-off grade of 1.0g/t Au and had aneffective date of 31 May 2016.

Other Considerations

To the best of the Qualified Person’s knowledge, atthe time of estimation there are no known environmental, permitting,legal, title, taxation, socio-economic, marketing, political or otherrelevant issues that could materially impact the eventual extractionof the Mineral Resource.

The most likely extraction scenario is anticipated tobe by means of a small 100m wide open pit to a depth of approximately30m, followed by underground stoping. While a larger open pit wouldlikely be economically viable based on pit optimisation tests, thesize of the pit may encroach on local waterways and bring nearby farmbuildings within the safe blast radius of the pit. As such, the abovescenario is considered more likely.

Studies have been previously completed as part of the2017 PFS (internal, unpublished) on the natural environment andpotential impacts on the local community.

GR Engineering Services Ltd (GRES) completed ametallurgical and processing report for the project as part of the2017 PFS (internal, unpublished). The metallurgical work was conductedat ALS Metallurgical Laboratories in Balcatta, Western Australia withinitial tests confirming the gold is not refractory. In summary, goodgold recovery was demonstrated in cyanide leaching (96%) and flotation(88%), whereas the gravity method gave only 36% recovery.

Detailed studies were previously completed as part ofthe 2017 PFS (internal, unpublished) on mining, hydrology,geomechanics, waste geochemistry, mine waste and tailings, powersupply, surface infrastructure and CAPEX & OPEX.

Sampling and AssayingProcedures

All of the drill holes used to define the SlivovaProject have been drilled using diamond core drilling techniques inHQ, NTW and NQ diameter core sizes. All diamonddrill core is processed in the Company’s core shed, near the SlivovaProject. Initially, all sample preparation occurred at the ALS Groupsample preparation facility at Rosia Montana, Romania and then at ALSin Bor, Serbia. Drill-core samples from thedrilling programmes at Slivova were cut in half by a diamond saw andsent for analysis in batches in line with the Company's qualitycontrol procedures.

The review of the QA/QC results from the 2014-2016drill programme, the holes which were used in the resource estimate,indicated no issues. Standards, blanks and duplicates all showed goodperformance. The insertion rate of QA/QC samples for these phases ofthe drill programme was 12% (4,930 samples incl. 582 QA/QC samples),with a similar proportion of blanks, standards, field duplicates,analytical duplicates and pulp duplicates inserted.

Diamond drill core recoveries were monitored andrecorded in the sampling database. Overall core recovery for thediamond drilling is 92%, with core recovery for only the holes used inthe resource estimate being 90%. There is no bias between samplerecovery and grade. Samples with less than 80% recovery were noted tobe in zones of fault gouge, highly broken core or drill-spuncore.

All samples have been submitted for gold and silveranalysis, with some batches being submitted for a full multi-elementsuite of analysis. Not all batches had multi-element analysis due tobudget constraints. All analysis has been undertaken by ALS Group attheir fully accredited laboratories, as detailed below.

Gold analysis was undertaken at the ALS laboratory inRosia Montana, Romania using Fire Assay with an Atomic AbsorptionSpectrometry Finish on a 30g charge. The upper detection limit forthis method (Au-AA23) is set at 10g/t gold, with any over-detectionvalues re-analysed via Fire Assay with a Gravimetric Finish(Au-GRA21).

Silver analysis was undertaken at the ALS laboratory inLoughrea, Ireland using a multi-acid digest and a hydrochloric acidleach with an AAS read. An upper detection limit of 100g/t silver isset for this analytical technique – no samples returned grades atthis upper detection limit.

Multi-element analysis was undertaken at the ALSfacility in Ireland, using a multi-acid digest with the analysiscompleted by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry(ICPMS).

Review of the assay results determined that all QualityControl and Quality Assurance samples (blanks, standards, andduplicates) passed the required quality control checks established bythe Company, with duplicate samples showing excellent correlation. Laboratory sample preparation, assaying procedures and chain ofcustody were appropriately controlled. The Company maintains an archive of half-core samples and aphotographic record of all cores for future reference.

The independent Qualified Person forMineral Resources as defined by NI 43-101 is Mr. Richard Siddle, MAIG,of Addison Mining Services Ltd. Mr. Siddle has reviewed and approvedthe scientific and technical content of this news release.  TheQualified Person completed a site visit to the project on 13 June2023, and has inspected the property, drillhole locations and hasreviewed selected intervals of the drill core used in the MineralResource Estimate. No concerns were identified during thevisit.

Ariana Resources is an AIM-listed mineral exploration and development companywith an exceptional track-record of creating value for itsshareholders through its interests in active mining projects andinvestments in exploration companies. Its current interests includegold production in Turkey and copper-gold exploration and developmentprojects in Cyprus and Kosovo.

Western Tethyan Minerals is a UK-registered, mineral exploration and developmentcompany focused on South East Europe. The company has a strategicalliance with Newmont Corporation and Ariana Resources and iscurrently focused on exploration for major copper-gold deposits in theLecce Magmatic Complex and Vardar Belt. The company is assessingseveral other exploration project opportunities across Eastern Europe,targeting copper-gold deposits across the porphyry-epithermaltransition.

Avrupa Minerals Ltd. is a growth-oriented junior exploration and developmentcompany directed to discovery of mineral deposits, using a hybridprospect generator business model.  The Company holds one 100%-ownedlicense in Portugal, the Alvalade VMS Project, presently optioned toSandfire MATSA in an earn-in joint venture agreement.  The Companynow holds one 100%-owned exploration license covering the Slivova goldprospect in Kosovo, and is actively advancing four prospects incentral Finland through its in-process acquisition of Akkerman FinlandOy.  Avrupa focuses its project generation work in politically stableand prospective regions of Europe, presently including Portugal,Finland, and Kosovo.  The Company continues to seek and develop otheropportunities around Europe.

For additional information, contact Avrupa Minerals Ltd. at1-604-687-3520 or visit our website at www.avrupaminerals.com .

On behalf of the Board,

“Paul W. Kuhn”

Paul W. Kuhn, President & Director

This news release was prepared byCompany management, who take full responsibility for its content. Paul W. Kuhn, President and CEO of Avrupa Minerals, a LicensedProfessional Geologist and a Registered Member of the Society ofMining Engineers, is a Qualified Person as defined by NationalInstrument 43-101 of the Canadian Securities Administrators.  He hasreviewed the technical disclosure in this release.  Mr. Kuhn, the QP,has not only reviewed, but prepared and supervised the preparation orapproval of the scientific and technical content in the newsrelease.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor itsRegulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policiesof the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacyor accuracy of this release.

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