April 30, 2003

TERTIARY INTENSIFIES EXPLORATION ACTIVITY ON MANY FRONTS

• Results From Platinum First Round Drilling Expected End May
• Target Scheduled For Testing At Old RTZ PGM-Nickel-Copper Property In Sweden
• New Copper-Gold Project Added To Portfolio
• Good Support Locally In Saudi For Massive Ghurayyah Tantalum Project

AIM-listed Tertiary Minerals has completed a three-hole drilling programme on its Norwegian platinum prospect in the Finnmark District to follow up a new discovery of platinum group elements made during fieldwork. Assay results are expected by the end of May, states the company in its end March quarterly.

Within the next month the company will also carry out first pass drilling at an old Rio Tinto platinum-nickel-copper prospect at Nottrask in Sweden. The Nottrask layered mafic intrusion is considered prospective for accumulations of Voiseys Bay style mineralisation and during previous drilling in the 1970s an intercept of 13m of 0.8p.c. copper and 0.6p.c. nickel was made in one zone of mineralisation near the margin of the intrusion. A number of strong conductors have been identified, some of which will now be drilled.

Tertiary has also added to its exploration portfolio by taking on a copper-gold prospect within a 24 square kilometre exploration permit at Vehkavaara in the Norbotten District of northern Sweden. The target, its second in the district, is a 4km long electromagnetic conductor with an associated strong copper geochemical anomaly. The acquisition follows the company’s initiative to search for Olympic Dam style iron-oxide-copper-gold (IOCG) deposits. It has eight similar IOCG targets in Finland.

The first IOCG deposit, with identified drill targets, is at Ahmavuoma, Norbotten, an advanced copper-gold-cobalt project with previous drill intersections up to 43.15m (from 60m downhole) grading 0.68p.c. copper. 0.2p.c. gold and 0.33p.c. cobalt. During the March quarter Tertiary signed an agreement to acquire exploration data from North Atlantic Natural Resources in exchange for a 1.5p.c. net smelter royalty. Tertiary has identified a number of targets in low lying and boggy ground. Drilling is scheduled for next winter when the frozen ground will allow drill access.

Turning to its giant Ghurayyah tantalum-niobium deposit in Saudi Arabia, which was reported on earlier in the quarter, Tertiary chairman Patrick Cheetham states: “We are most encouraged by progress to date and we have been well supported locally in Saudi. Talks continue with a number of companies and at government level to drive the project forward.” Completion of a positive scoping study, which gave base-case projections of a three year pay-back on the $US101m capital cost, move the project on to further feasibility studies and suggests a possible start for 2006.

Tertiary’s second and much smaller tantalum project at Rosendal in Finland will be considered for advancement when tantalum prices recover. It is expected to cost $US5.5m for a 125,000 tonne per annum plant producing 60,000 pounds of Ta2O5 in high-grade tantalite concentrates.

Further Information: Patrick Cheetham, Tertiary Minerals:
Tel: 01625-626203; mob: 07767-458751.

Ron Marshman/John Greenhalgh, City of London PR Ltd.
Tel : 020-7628-5518