Avrupa Commences Drilling at Three Targets in Kosovo

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - Aug. 29, 2011) - Avrupa Minerals Ltd. (TSX VENTURE:AVU) is pleased to announce that drilling has started at the Grbes target on the Kamenica license in eastern Kosovo, as part of a 900-meter first-pass exploratory drill program. The program consists of drilling two targets on the Kamenica License and one target on the Glavej License. The targets are essentially base metal targets with some potential for precious metals.

Kamenica Drilling Program

Avrupa plans to drill up to 250 meters at Grbes and up to 150 meters at the nearby Metovic target on the Kamenica License. Both drill holes target carbonate-hosted, Vardar Trend shear-related, vein-like zones of potential mineralization, similar to the mineralization found in the Artana Mine (Novo Brdo), located less than five kilometers to the southeast along trend.

The Artana Mine, having operated intermittently since the height of Saxon times between the 12^th and 14^th centuries, is presently operating on a limited basis. Total modern production at Artana was estimated by the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) to be in the 4-5 million metric tonne range at around 10% combined lead and zinc, 140 g/t silver, and +1 g/t gold. Review and recalculation of old Yugoslav resource reports by UNMIK and their consultants indicated that mineable resources at Artana would be in the 2.5-3.0 million metric tonne range at similar grades. The historic production information, calculated by UNMIK consultants and recently obtained by Avrupa, is non NI 43-101 compliant.

Glavej Drilling Program

Avrupa will next move the drill rig to the Pogledalo-Hazelnut Hill target on the Glavej license in north-central Kosovo. The target at Hazelnut Hill is a minimum 150-meter by 300-meter size zone of alteration, gossans, and cross-cutting breccias hosted in volcanic rocks near the southern margin of an Oligocene caldera system. The Company plans to drill 1-2 holes, totaling up to 500 meters, which target potential base and precious metal-bearing sulfide mineralization related to the cross-cutting breccia pipes. It is possible that the Hazelnut Hill target may have some characteristics similar to the nearby Stan Terg Mine that presently operates on a limited basis. Stan Terg has been mined intermittently since Roman times. UNMIK estimated that the mine produced upwards of 35 million metric tonnes of +10% combined lead and zinc and 80 g/t silver. The historic production information, calculated by UNMIK between 2002 and 2006 and recently obtained by Avrupa, is non NI 43-101 compliant.

The Pogledalo-Hazelnut Hill target area lies adjacent on the south side to a 4-6 square kilometer area of altered volcanic rocks, jasperoids, and gossans, located on the new Selac license, which have not yet been mapped or systematically sampled. Recent stream sediment geochemistry in this portion of the license demonstrates potential for further target discovery.

Avrupa CEO Paul Kuhn stated, "Avrupa has a strong overall position in Kosovo, and is actively looking in Europe and North America for a suitable partner for strategic growth in the country. We have five licenses including the two with drill targets, and we have completed most of the first-pass generative exploration on the other three licenses, all of which contain surface exposures of base metal mineralization. In addition, we have identified several areas with potential for precious metal mineralization. Avrupa is poised to attract JV partners in a regional-style exploration program, anchored by advanced greenfields exploration projects at Glavej and Kamenica."

Further information concerning the drilling and targets, cross sections, and plan-view geology can be found on the Avrupa website at www.avrupaminerals.com.

The historical estimates contained in this news release have not been calculated in accordance with the mineral resources or mineral reserves classifications contained in the CIM Definition Standards on Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves, as required by National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101"). Accordingly, the Company is not treating these historical estimates as current mineral resources or mineral reserves as defined in NI 43-101, and such historical estimates should not be relied upon. A qualified person has not done sufficient work to date to classify the historical estimates as current mineral resources or mineral reserves.

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 and in the Alvalade JV project area located in the Iberian Pyrite Belt, where Europe's richest active copper mine is located;

• Tungsten and Gold in Portugal at the Covas JV project area;

• Silver, Lead and Zinc in Kosovo at the Glavej, Kamenica, Selac, 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, and a Registered Member of the Society of Mining Engineers, 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.