Avrupa Minerals Ltd. (TSX VENTURE:AVU)(8AM.F) is pleased to announce that the Company has commenced a third phase of drilling at the Covas Tungsten Project, joint ventured with Blackheath Resources Inc. The project is operated by Avrupa and funded by Blackheath, under a previously announced amendment to the Covas Joint Venture earn-in agreement (see news release of May 12, 2014).

The initial part of the new Phase 3 drilling program will center on the eastern side of the Covas prospect at the Lapa Grande, Muito Seco, Castelo, and Boundary targets, where previous JV and historic drilling have indicated good potential for development of high-grade tungsten (WO3) resources. The Company anticipates drilling up to 15 shallow holes, totaling approximately 1,100 meters, in these deposit areas, following successful Phases 1 and 2 drilling. The immediate goals of the drilling are to increase and better define the high grade WO3 resources in the four areas, and to potentially connect several of the known lenses of mineralization.

The second part of this program will be directed towards the Telheira target and other western Covas possibilities. Spring/early summer fieldwork in the western half of the Covas prospect, consisting of geological mapping, soil and rock sample geochemistry, and 17 line-kilometers of IP-Resistivity and Magnetics geophysical data collection, centered at Telheira and other nearby tungsten mineralization targets. Review and interpretation of the data is nearing completion, and the Company expects to be able to complete the drill targeting process with the placement of up to five more drill holes, totaling 200 to 400 meters. The top priority will be to expand the high grade Telheira mineralization, as well as test and upgrade several nearby, previously poorly- or un-tested mineral targets.

Paul W. Kuhn, President and CEO of Avrupa Minerals, stated, "It is exciting to get the third phase drilling campaign started, as we will be keying in on known high grade WO3 areas around the Covas prospect. The JV has put a lot of energy into upgrading the targets this year, with a strong surface exploration effort, and we are looking forward to positive results from Lapa Grande, Castelo, and Telheira, in particular."

Covas is a past-producing tungsten mine, and remaining historic resources on the property have been estimated at 922,900 metric tonnes of 0.78% WO3 by Union Carbide in 1980, based on work including 327 drill holes on the property. Mineralization is open to expansion. The price of tungsten has increased significantly in recent years and is currently approximately $36 per kilogram of contained tungsten trioxide. (These resources are historic in nature, prepared by Union Carbide Corp. in 1980, but are considered relevant. However, a qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimates as current mineral resources, and the Joint Venture is not considering the historical estimates as current mineral resources.)

Blackheath Resources Inc. is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange, and is focused on tungsten exploration and development in Portugal. The Company holds the past-producing Covas, Borralha, Vale das Gatas and Adoria tungsten projects and also the Bejanca tungsten/tin project. Management of Blackheath has previous experience in tungsten mining operations in Portugal through Primary Metals Inc., the operator of the Panasqueira Tungsten Mine from 2003 to 2007.

• [Editor:Mango]