Avrupa Minerals to raise $500,000 for exploration

Avrupa Minerals (CVE:AVU) has announced a $500,000 non-brokered private placement financing, with the company saying the capital raise will ensure it can continue to advance exploration at its projects. 

The company said in a release Wednesday that it decided to raise a limited amount in this offering and combine it with expense reductions. 

Avrupa's goal is that for every one dollar invested by the company's shareholders, at least 1.5 times that amount will be spent on all company-related exploration.       

The financing will consist of 10 million units at a price of 10 cents each, with each unit made up of a common share and a share purchase warrant. Each warrant will allow the holder to purchase one additional common share at a price of 15 cents for a period of two years starting on the closing date of the financing. 

"We now have three projects optioned out and several others that we are working to joint venture," said president and CEO Paul Kuhn, in the release announcing the financing. "The new funds will be used to upgrade our projects in order to attract further option agreements, which are the best source of financing exploration on our projects."   

The company, which has properties in Portugal, Kosovo and Germany, holds a total of 16 exploration licenses in these European countries, including 10 in Portugal. It operates three joint ventures in Portugal, including the Covas partnership with Blackheath Resources (CVE:BHR), and the Alvalade joint venture with Antofagasta Minerals in the southern part of the country.        

Earlier this year, it signed a third deal to option out its Arga tungsten-gold project to tungsten explorer Blackheath, giving Blackheath the option to acquire up to an 85 per cent interest in the property over several years.              

The company said Wednesday that drill programs will begin shortly on both the Arga and Covas properties. 

Also in 2013, Avrupa completed two purchases of the minority interests in its subsidiaries in Portugal and Kosovo. It now owns 100 per cent of both companies that hold the projects in those countries. 

"Avrupa has also had significant interest in its Kosovo projects and hopes to arrange a joint venture on some or all of them soon," it said in the statement, adding that it hopes to add value for shareholders with "good exploration results", having also bolstered its IR strategies in recent months.            

The junior mining company currently has 29,043,571 common shares outstanding, which will increase to 39,043,571 common shares upon completion of the financing announced today.