RELEASED ON BEHALF OF TERTIARY MINERALS PLC: JULY 31 2001 TERTIARY'S CHECK ASSAYS CONFIRM EARLIER GEOLOGICAL SURVEY RESULTS AT PROMISING FINNMARK PGM PROSPECT · Part Of Company's Programme To Define New Drill Targets · Metallurgical Testwork Begins At Tantalum Project In Finland · Application For Exploration Permit Over New Swedish Ni-Cu-PGM Prospect AIM-listed Tertiary Minerals Plc says that check assays on selected samples from earlier core drilling on its Finnmark platinum group metals (PGM) project in northern Norway have shown excellent correlation with earlier assays reported by the Norwegian Geological Survey (NGU). In its end-June quarterly report, the company says re-sampling of the Porsvann and Karenhaugen drill core was undertaken to verify previous assay results which included a reported intersection of 15.2m grading 2.1g/t palladium+ platinum in one hole at Porsvann. It forms part of a review which has drawn together for the first time the results of previous base and precious metals exploration in the northern Karosjok greenstone belt and unpublished NGU geological mapping and sampling. The objective of the programme is to define drilling targets through a better understanding of the controls on PGM mineralisation at Porsvann and Karenhaugen. It also seeks to evaluate and sample several other PGM prospective intrusions within the company's extensive exploration permits. Elsewhere, Tertiary has applied for an exploration permit to cover the Notträsk layered mafic igneous complex in Sweden which is considered to be prospective for nickel-copper-PGM- bearing massive and disseminated sulphide mineralisation. The 10km by 5km funnel-shaped intrusion contains a series of rocks (the Marginal Series) which show evidence of assimilation of sulphide and graphite-bearing metasediments that host discontinuous zones of massive sulphides containing approximately 1p.c. nickel and 0.2p.c. copper. These were first exposed in a road cutting. Reported work by previous explorers has been limited to ground geophysics and shallow drilling. Although the former tested only 1km of the 12.5km strike of the Marginal Series and to a depth of only 100m, it defined a number of shallow conductors, one of which is coincident with the "road-cut" mineralisation. The nine shallow drill holes completed by earlier explorers showed the massive "road-cut" mineralisation to be of limited strike length. However, they also revealed the presence of widespread disseminated mineralisation which, in places, carried nickel and copper values, with a best value of 0.8p.c. copper and 0.6p.c. nickel over 13.4m. No follow-up exploration was carried out, says Tertiary. In the central part of the Notträsk intrusion, the NGU drilled four stratigraphic holes, one of which encountered anomalous PGM mineralisation (1.4g/t platinum+palladium over 0.5m). Again, this was not followed up. Commenting on other projects, Tertiary says metallurgical testwork has begun on the Rosendal tantalum-feldspar pegmatite in Finland whilst integration of the Boliden and Tertiary drill databases covering the Windfall zinc-silver project in south-central Sweden has been completed and a thorough evaluation of the project continues. Further information: Patrick Cheetham, Tertiary Minerals. Tel: 01625-626203 Ron Marshman, City of London PR. Tel: 020-7628-5518