Avrupa Options Out Covas Tungsten Project

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - May 18, 2011) -Avrupa Minerals Ltd. (TSX VENTURE:AVU) is pleased to announce that it has signed an agreement to option out the Covas Tungsten Project to Blackheath Resources Inc. ("Blackheath"). Under the terms of the agreement, Blackheath has the option to earn a 51% interest in the project by spending €300,000 in exploration on the project before March 20, 2013, of which €150,000 is a firm commitment and must be spent by March 20, 2012. Blackheath can then earn an additional 19% by spending an additional €700,000 for a total interest of 70% for total expenditures of €1,000,000, by March 20, 2014. Blackheath is a private Canadian exploration company.

The Covas deposit carries a non NI 43-101 compliant resource of approximately 1 million metric tonnes of 0.7% Tungsten Oxide (WO₃). Information about the historic Covas tungsten resource comes from NI 43-101 technical report entitled "Covas Tungsten Deposit", written for Wega Mining ASA by B.J. Price, P. Geo., in 2007. Avrupa Minerals has not completed sufficient work to validate the information, although it is considered to be reliable and relevant. This historical resource was calculated by Union Carbide Corporation in the early 1980's. Mineralization at Covas is hosted in a ring of pyrrhotite skarns that surrounds a 3 kilometer by 2 kilometer intrusive complex. In addition to the known potential for further skarn-related tungsten mineralization, Avrupa has started to study the intrusive complex in greater detail to determine the possibility for further, potentially bulk-tonnage, mineralization directly related to the intrusive rocks.

The details of the option agreement are:

• In order for Blackheath to earn a 51% undivided interest in the Covas property, they must incur €300,000 work expenditures on the exploration of the property.

• The amount of €150,000, being part of the above expenditures requirement, will be a firm commitment by Blackheath, and will be used to advance the project through March 20, 2012. The remainder of the initial work expenditures can be deferred at the election of Blackheath to be spent during the period from March 20, 2012 to March 20, 2013.

• To earn an additional 19% in the Covas property, for an aggregate total of 70%, Blackheath must spend a further €700,000 (aggregate total of €1 million) by March 20, 2014 to advance the project.

• Blackheath can earn a further 15%, for an aggregate total of 85%, by funding the completion of a pre-feasibility study meeting the definition of such a study under NI 43-101 by March 20, 2016.

Paul W. Kuhn, CEO of Avrupa Minerals, commented that "The signing of this agreement with Blackheath Resources is the first option agreement for the Company and solidifies its business model as a project generator. We are excited to be working with Blackheath in advancing Covas to the next stage, and we look forward to working with the Blackheath team. We have already started the follow-up mapping and prospecting in the Covas Dome area, as well as upgrading the previously-announced, newly-discovered, skarn mineralization targets."

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 and Kosovo.

Avrupa has an exciting portfolio of exploration projects consisting of:

• Copper and Zinc in Portugal at Marateca, Alvalade, Canal Caveira, and Ferreira do Alentejo in the Iberian Pyrite Belt, where Europe's richest active copper mine is located;
• Tungsten in Portugal at the Covas prospect;
• Silver, Lead and Zinc in Kosovo at the Glavej, Kamenica, and Bajgora properties in the Trepça Mineral Belt of the Vardar Zone, historically, Europe's most productive district for lead and zinc;
• Copper in Kosovo at the Rezhanc property in the Macedonian porphyry belt.

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, 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.