July 29, 2005

TERTIARY’S ADDS NEW FINNISH COPPER-PGM-GOLD PROSPECT TO SUMMER WORK PROGRAMME

• Talks In Progress For Possible Ghurayyah Feasibility Funding
• Stake In Newly-Listed Sunrise Diamonds Now Worth £600,000

AIM-listed Tertiary Minerals Plc says that as part of its ongoing programme to generate new projects it is planning early-stage exploration on a number of claims and claim reservations, including at Kalkinnen in Finland. This is a new prospect where recent reconnaissance grab sampling has returned results which include 2.3p.c. copper with 3.4g/t palladium-platinum-gold, and 0.3p.c. copper with 3.2g/t palladium-platinum-gold.

In its end-June quarterly, Tertiary also reports that a number of meetings were held with parties interested in funding further feasibility studies on the company’s world-class Ghurayyah tantalum-niobium project in Saudi Arabia. As a result, detailed negotiations are now taking place with several of these parties who have completed, or are completing, due diligence reviews of Ghurayyah data.

Commenting on the company’s activities in Scandinavia, Tertiary says it has completed a detailed Slingram electromagnetic survey across the Central Zone of the Notträsk mafic intrusion in Sweden to follow up nine, closely spaced, near-surface conductors and one deeper conductor identified by an earlier TEM survey.

These conductors had been interpreted to indicate massive sulphide mineralisation and the Slingram survey confirmed their presence, with individual conductors up to 60m thick and possibly comprising multiple stacked sulphide lenses on three distinct horizons within a strike length of 750m.

Tertiary originally planned to drill five holes to follow-up these results, but the first intersected only multiple narrow (10cm or less) bands of iron sulphide within a 50m wide zone from which preliminary assays returned only low nickel and copper values Some elevated values of gold and platinum were also encountered, however, and Tertiary therefore decided to defer the rest of the planned drilling until more comprehensive assaying of the first hole could be completed and the target re-interpreted. These assay results are now awaited, it adds.

The re-organisation of Tertiary Minerals’ diamond interests in Finland was completed on June 6 when its newly incorporated subsidiary, Sunrise Diamonds plc, was admitted to trading on AIM. Sunrise issued 40m ordinary shares at 1p each and a further placement of 15,375,000 shares at 2p each on admission to AIM.

In its end-June quarterly Tertiary says that, since listing, Sunrise has initiated exploration programmes in Finland, including ground magnetics surveys and till sampling programmes. Sunrise has also announced that kimberlite indicator minerals have been found in association with a number of magnetic anomalies having kimberlite-like signatures.

Sunrise shares continue to trade at a premium to their issue price and Tertiary’s holding of 20m Sunrise shares (26.53p.c. of issued capital) at 2.75p each now accounts for approximately £600,000 of Tertiary’s total capitalisation of £3.0m.

COPIES OF QUARTERLY REPORT AVAILABLE ON REQUEST

Further info: Patrick Cheetham, Executive Chairman, Tertiary Minerals plc.
Tel: 01625-626203

John Greenhalgh/Ron Marshman, City of London PR Ltd.
Tel: 0207-628 5518