Avrupa Receives 1-Year Extension for Covas W-Au Exploration License, Portugal

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwire - March 27, 2012) - Avrupa Minerals Ltd. (TSX VENTURE:AVU) is pleased to announce that the Government of Portugal has approved and signed a 1-year extension to the Covas W-Au exploration license. The permit will be valid until March 20, 2013, and requires a work investment of € 500,000 to fulfill all exploration commitments. At the end of the extension period, if continued exploration is warranted, the company may request a 3-year trial exploitation license, which is routinely granted by the Portuguese government when mineralization is present. Prior exploration work on the property includes approximately 27,000 meters of drilling in 329 drill holes by numerous operators up through the 1980's. Calculations prepared by Union Carbide in 1980 demonstrated an inferred + indicated mineral resource of 922,900 metric tonnes of 0.78% WO3 (this historic resource estimate is not NI 43-101 compliant).

Avrupa, through its Portuguese subsidiary and predecessor companies, has controlled the property since 2007. Mapping and sampling of the property in 2011 suggested possibility for an intrusion-related gold target, in addition to potential for further tungsten mineralization. The Company signed an earn-in joint venture agreement with Vancouver-based Blackheath Resources in May 2011 to further explore the potential for gold and tungsten mineralization on the property. Terms of the agreement were announced in an Avrupa news release dated May 18, 2011.

Paul W. Kuhn, CEO of Avrupa Minerals, stated, "The Company is excited about gaining the extension of the Covas exploration license. With the official signing of the extension, our partner Blackheath Resources will now be able to raise the requisite funding to advance the exploration program on the property. We plan to drill test a number of tungsten and gold targets during the upcoming field season. In addition, the people who run Blackheath have previous tungsten mining experience in Portugal, and their contributions to the program will be substantial."

Blackheath Resources Inc. is an unlisted BC exploration company focused on tungsten exploration in Portugal. The management of the company has previous experience in tungsten mining operations in Portugal through Primary Metals Inc., the operator of the Panasqueira Tungsten Mine from 2003 to 2007. Blackheath is a reporting company and intends to list its shares on the TSX Venture Exchange.

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


The Company has an exciting portfolio of exploration projects consisting of:

- Copper and Zinc in southern Portugal at Marateca and in the Alvalade JV project area located in the Iberian Pyrite Belt, where Europe's richest active copper mine presently operates;

- Tungsten and Gold in northern Portugal at the Covas JV project area;

- Precious metal and REE potential in the new Aljezur project area, south Portugal;

- Silver, Lead and Zinc in Kosovo at the Glavej, Kamenica, Selac, and Bajgora properties in the Trepça Mineral Belt of the Vardar Zone, historically, Europe's most productive district for lead and zinc;

- Gold in eastern Germany in the 307 km2 Oelsnitz exploration license in the historic Erzgebirge Mining District, a 1000-year producer of tin, tungsten, silver, base metals, and uranium.


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 in the State of Washington, USA, 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.

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.



Contact Information

Avrupa Minerals Ltd.
Paul W. Kuhn, President & Director
1-604-687-3520
1-604-688-3392 (FAX)
www.avrupaminerals.com