OZ Minerals Ltd. secured an option to earn up to a 75% interest in Avrupa Minerals Ltd.'s wholly owned Alvito copper-gold exploration project in southern Portugal.

The company can earn an initial 51% interest in the tenement by spending at least A$1 million on exploration in the first year and can take its interest up to 75% by spending a further A$3 million on exploration by Sept. 23, 2019.

OZ Minerals said April 10 that it intends to supervise an exploration program next quarter, with Avrupa's geological team in Portugal managing drilling, which is scheduled to begin by mid-2017.