Avrupa Minerals starts prospect generation program on Erzgebirge JV

Avrupa Minerals (CVE:AVU) said late Thursday that it has started first-pass reconnaissance and generative work on the Oelsnitz project, located in the historic Erzgebirge mining district in eastern Germany.

The district has hosted nearly 900 years of exploration and mining for silver, base metals, tin, tungsten, iron, fluorite and uranium.

Although there has been no significant metal mining activity since the early 1990s, the company said the number of new exploration applications has recently "inundated" the mining authority of the Free State of Saxony, with most of the applications being for tin and tungsten.

Avrupa and its partner, Beak Consultants, made the first application for primarily gold exploration.
              
There is no reported historic exploration for gold in the district, Avrupa noted, but the company said it is "well known" that there are numerous locations in the Erzgebirge where "casual gold planning can be successful."

Beak has compiled a database that includes both locations and the relative importance of gold panning occurrences in the joint venture area.

With this data, the team is starting the first-pass reconaissance stage.

Avrupa must spend around C$180,000 for exploration purposes to gain 85 per cent of the Oelsnitz exploration license, which was issued to Beak in January this year.    

The license covers 307.2 square kilometres and has been issued for gold, silver, tin, tungsten, molybdenum, copper, lead, zinc, tellurium, barite, and fluorite.

Once Avrupa has earned into the project, the two companies will form a joint venture to explore for gold, along with tin and tungsten, on the property.

Avrupa said it will look for other potential partners, particularly those already focused on European exploration and mining, to further expand the exploration program from the prospect generation phase.

Germany-based Beak offers a wide range of consulting services to both public and private clients involved in the natural resource and environmental sectors, information management, and communication technology.

The company created an extensive GIS exploration database for the Erzgebirge, which was key in establishing the mineralization target model and the outline for the joint application to the mining authorities in the state of Saxony.

Avrupa is a junior explorer using a prospect generator model, for mineral deposits in politically stable and prospective regions of Europe, including Portugal, Kosovo, and Germany.
               
The company has a portfolio of exploration projects including copper and zinc in southern Portugal, tungsten and gold in northern Portugal, and silver lead, zinc and copper and gold in Kosovo.