Avrupa Minerals Announces Updated Slivova Mineral Resource Estimate

(TheNewswire)

• Global in situ gold resource increases by 78% over original MRE

• Global in situ silver resource increases by 113% over original MRE

• New MRE figures:

  • Measured Resources:  835,000 mt @ 4.3 g/t Au and 15 g/t Ag

  • Indicated Resources:  296,000 mt @ 3.6 g/t Au and 15 g/t Ag

  • Inferred Resources:  250,000 mt @ 3.7 g/t Au and 13 g/t Ag

• 4,500-meter drilling program planned for the next phase of field work, which will include resource infill drilling and exploration drilling around the license

Vancouver, BC – TheNewswire – July 17, 2023 – Avrupa Minerals Ltd. (TSXV:AVU ) is pleased to announce that its partner at the Slivova Gold Project in Kosovo, Western Tethyan Resources (WTR), has provided a new Mineral Resource Estimate and general near-term work plan for the gold-silver deposit.  Slivova is located in the prolific Vardar Mineral Trend, about 30 km SE of the capital, Pristina.  WTR can earn-in to 75% of the Project by funding exploration and development for Euro 1,800,000 over three years, and then a further 10% by making certain milestone and success payments, producing an Environmental Impact Statement, delivering a Feasibility Study, and completing a Mining License application.

Paul W. Kuhn, President and CEO of Avrupa Minerals, commented:

“We are truly excited about this new development in the progress of the Slivova Project, and look forward to continued success in the program.  WTR and its associated company, Ariana Resources, are working hard to advance the Project to the next level.  We expect further information concerning progress, as the two companies work to complete a Preliminary Economic Assessment for Slivova in the coming months and begin a 4,500-meter drilling program to further define the Slivova deposit and test other attractive, previously-identified possibilities around the license.”

Dr. Kerim Şener, Managing Director of Ariana Resources, provided further information:

“We are very pleased to provide a substantial resource update on the Slivova Gold Project in Kosovo.  With a Measured and Indicated Resource of 146,000 oz of gold and 546,000 oz of silver, and an Inferred Resource of another 30,000 oz of gold and 100,000 oz Ag in global resources now defined, Slivova is now well on track to be developed conceptually as a high-grade, open-pit and underground mining operation.

We are increasingly confident that further resource expansion will occur as exploration proceeds at the site in the upcoming years.  Several exploration targets in the immediate vicinity require follow-up and drill-testing, and the broader project area contains significant exploration potential for similar mineralisation based on the latest regional BLEG stream-sediment results.

We are firmly in the planning stage for a new drilling programme at Slivova, which will be focused in part on resource infill and extensional drilling.  We are targeting a minimum resource of 200,000 oz of gold prior to the initiation of more advanced project development work, which would include more advanced studies.”

Mentor Demi, Managing Director of Western Tethyan Resources added:

“Western Tethyan Resources is very excited to announce a significant resource increase for the Slivova gold deposit. The resource growth came mostly from the incorporation of the new historical drilling data and the revision of the geology and resource interpretation and model.

Based on the current resources’ size, Slivova represents a very prospective, undeveloped gold project, in Kosovo.

Slivova is well on its way to becoming an advanced project, yet with a lot of exploration upside, down dip from the current resource, as well as from the surrounding satellite prospects. WTR is looking forward to starting in Q3 with the exploration program, Environmental Impact Assessment, and Social Engagement Plan following recommendations from the Preliminary Economic Assessment.”

The following information is a Summary of the Mineral Resource Estimate, provided by Mr. Richard Siddle, MAIG, of Addison Mining Services Ltd., an Independent Qualified Person, as defined by Canadian NI 43-101 regulations.  With the publication of this document, the full MRE must be publicly filed within 45 days.

Introduction

Between October 2022 and June 2023, the Western Tethyan and Ariana teams completed detailed field, drill core and digital data reviews of all information attributed to the Slivova Project and its Mineral Resources. Mineral Resources have been estimated by Mr. Richard Siddle, MAIG, of Addison Mining Services Ltd., an Independent Qualified Person as defined by Canadian NI 43-101.

The Slivova gold and silver deposit, consists of intrusive-related, stratiform massive to disseminated gold-bearing and base metal mineralogy hosted in Cretaceous-aged calcareous sediments. The mineralisation occurs as disseminated to massive replacement of calcareous sandstone to pebble conglomerate and minor replacement of limestone, associated with pyrite, pyrrhotite, arsenopyrite, and base-metal sulphides. Lithological control and structural features appear to have played a major role in focusing the alteration and mineralisation, both as fluid pathways and fluid retardants.

The Slivova Project exploration license is located along the Vardar Trend, approximately 30km SE of Pristina, the capital city of Kosovo (Figure 1).

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Figure 1: The Slivova deposit (Peshter Target), and its associated license boundary.

Slivova Mineral Resource Estimate

Mineral Resources have been estimated for the Slivova deposit (Peshter Target) only. No Mineral Resources have as yet been declared for other targets within the Slivova Project, such as Dzemajl, Valiaviste and Brus.

The estimated Mineral Resource for Slivova is reported in accordance with CIM Definition Standards, comprising of an anticipated open-pittable portion and an anticipated underground extraction portion reported above appropriate cut-off grades reflecting each anticipated mining type. Identification of material which has a reasonable prospect of eventual economic extraction is supported by existing metallurgical test work and an ongoing Preliminary Economic Analysis by Bara Consulting Ltd of the UK.

Mineralisation and block models for the Mineral Resource Estimate were informed by data from 62 surface drillholes over a total of 6,640m performed between 2014 and 2018 by the previous explorer, Innomatik Exploration Kosova (IEK). The hole spacing for the deposit is approximately 15m north by 15m east in the core of the deposit, extending to 30m north x 30m east towards the edges (Figure 2). Sample spacing and distribution are considered sufficient to establish the geological and grade continuity required for modelling and resource estimation. Gold and silver have been estimated as mining products, with no by-products or deleterious elements modelled.

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Figure 2: Summary map of the various phases of drilling completed within the Slivova Project area. Some drill collars in the core of the deposit are not visible at this scale. WGS84 Z34N.

The drill database was validated prior to resource estimation and quality control (QC) checks were made using industry-standard control charts for blanks, core duplicates and commercially certified reference material inserted into assay batches. The Qualified Person has reviewed the QC data and has found it suitable for use in Mineral Resource Estimation. Additionally, the assay database was reconstructed from the original assay certificates to increase confidence in the final assay database used in the resource estimation.

Geological Modelling

The mineralisation is understood to be typically defined as a single identifiable unit, and geologically constrained (e.g., higher grades are noted in some cases to be associated with coarser grained ‘pebble conglomerates’). The steeply-dipping, intercalated pebble and cobble conglomerates, sandstone and minor siltstone beds are thought to control the mineralisation through their different porosity and permeability characteristics. The geological model as applied to the Mineral Resource Estimate comprises a single domain plunging to the east-southeast, the strike of which is controlled by the host rocks (Figure 3).

The Slivova geological modelling used a combination of surface mapping data, structural measurements, geophysics, geological interpretations, and multi-element geochemical analysis in conjunction with date derived from diamond drill holes across the deposit area. Interpretations of geological surfaces are derived from 3D implicit modelling of drill hole data in Leapfrog GEO and EDGE v. 2023.1.0 using the software’s ‘intrusion’ function to generate an encapsulating volume over economically defined drill composites (Figure 3).  All wireframes have been clipped to the topography.

A mineralised wireframe at a cut-off of approximately 0.2g/t Au was used to distinguish mineralised and unmineralised material. Grade continuity within the interpreted mineralised zones is generally robust. Where continuity was not established between sections, the strike extrapolation was limited both manually (wireframes) and statistically (interpolations). While  higher-grade sub-populations of 3-10 g/t Au and above 10g/t Au are inferred from the data distribution inspection, the drill core indicated that this could not reliably be modelled, and as such an indicator kriging approach was adapted during block model estimation.

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Figure 3: 3D view of the modelled mineralised volume looking north. WGS84 Z34N.

The mineralisation broadly follows a northwest-southeast trend, as supported by structural measurements both in outcrop and on oriented core. The mineralisation outcrops at surface with visible sulphides in the exposure. The mineralised zone is approximately 260m along strike and 70m wide and covers an area of approximately 1.7 hectares.  The…