Avrupa Minerals Ltd has announced plans to upgrade its Covas tungsten project in northern Portugal, near the border town of Caminha.

 

The work plan consists of collecting and geochemically analyzing 250-300 soil samples located in a 3.5 x 2.0 km grid covering the project area.

 

The company plans to discover new bulk-mineable tungsten mineralization in the Covas Dome. Completion of the sample collection portion of the programme is expected by late October, with results returning towards the end of November.

 

Avrupa Minerals is actively seeking a mining partner to help further the programme and fully develop the potential of the property, suggesting that rising tungsten prices and the short supply of the metal in Europe could make the Covas tungsten project attractive for potential joint venture. The price of tungsten has increased by 30% since mid-2009, and the European Union has recently published a report which describes tungsten as one of 14 critical raw materials due to their high relative economic importance and high relative supply risk.