Drilling Report

Tertiary Minerals PLC
20 May 2002



                             TERTIARY MINERALS PLC

    Phase 1 Pre-Feasibility Drilling Completed at Rosendal Tantalum Project

  • Drill Intersections Show 77% Higher Tantalum Grade in Main Dyke
  • Strike Length of Drill-Defined Pegmatite More Than Doubled to 500m -
    Remains Open Along Strike
  • Rosendal Dyke is Part of a Larger Dyke Swarm With Strike Length Of Over
    2.5km

AIM-listed Tertiary Minerals plc is pleased to announce the results of Phase 1
of the pre-feasibility study drilling on the Rosendal tantalum project in
south-west Finland.

The objective of this programme, carried out in conjunction with a limited
programme of trenching, was to infill and extend the tantalum mineralised
pegmatite previously explored by the Geological Survey of Finland (GTK).
Initially, trenching was used to trace the immediate extensions to the known
tantalum bearing dyke but a more complex geometry on the western end and
waterlogged till on the eastern end rendered this ineffective. The drilling
programme was therefore extended to test for the strike extensions.

The drilling programme comprised 14 diamond core holes on eight 50-100m spaced
sections for a total of 1,221m. Complete results are shown in the accompanying
table and include highlights of


  • 541 grammes per tonne tantalum pentoxide (g/t Ta205) over 9.1m in Hole
    02RD001

  • 589 g/t Ta205 over 10.6m in Hole 02RD003

  • 1275 g/t Ta205 over 3.0m in Hole 02RD007

  • 241 g/t Ta205 over 20.2m in Hole 02RD013

  • 439 g/t Ta205 over 8.0m in Hole 02RD014

The latest drilling has extended the drill tested strike length of the pegmatite
from 200m to 500m. The deposit remains open at depth and along strike to both
the east and west.

The pegmatite is generally thicker and higher grade in the eastern half although
some very high grades have been encountered in narrow intersections in the west
(e.g. 02RD007). It is continuing strongly under cover on the most easterly drill
section where a number of parallel tantalum bearing dykes have also been
intersected.

The weighted average tantalum grade of drill-intersections of the main pegmatite
dyke is 346 g/t Ta205, 77% higher than the equivalent grade from previous GTK
drilling. The Company is investigating reasons for this increase, but it is
probably because the drill samples collected and assayed by Tertiary were
significantly larger than the earlier GTK samples - as shown in the following
table.

It is generally accepted that larger samples are more likely to be
representative of in-situ grade. Increased grade in larger samples has been
noted by other tantalum explorers and by Tertiary with respect to the 350kg
metallurgical sample from Rosendal which graded 620 g/t Ta205, 28% higher than
the average grade of smaller adjacent channel samples.

Tantalum Grade as Function of Drill Core and Sample Size

                                          TERTIARY 2002                     GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF FINLAND 1989 DRILLING

                                          DRILLING
Drill core diameter                       64mm                              32mm
Drill core weight per linear meter        6.4 kg                            1.1 kg
(assume SG 2.65)
% of Core sampled per linear meter        75%                               50%
Weighted average grade Ta205 in main      346 g/t Ta205                     195 g/t Ta205
pegmatite

The results of the Phase 1 drilling and prospecting will now be used to
calculate a revised resource estimate as a part of the development
pre-feasibility study.

The Company is currently engaged in further prospecting and mapping to evaluate
the additional resource potential of the Company's surrounding exploration
licences. Early work is encouraging and a number of rare-metal type pegmatite
dykes similar to Rosendal have been found including three containing visible
tantalite.

The Rosendal dyke may be one a swarm of dykes with a similar structural trend
having a combined strike length of some 2.5km.

ROSENDAL - PHASE 1 DRILLING RESULTS
                        Drill Hole                          Approx. True  Local Grid                               Hole
                       Intersection
 Hole Number   From         To       Thickness    Ta2O5      Thickness      Northing   Easting   Dip   Azimuth    Depth
               (m)         (m)          (m)      grammes/  (as % of int.)        (m)       (m)                      (m)
                                                  tonne
     SECTION              No surface
      10,500                  trench
  02RD014      4.20       14.58        10.38        90                      20,300    10,500   -50.0   180.0    151.00
         and  16.90       18.28         1.38        52
         and  20.30       29.68         9.38        43
         and  46.42       47.52         1.10        87
         and  64.27       65.57         1.30        95
         and  73.69       75.62         1.93        73
         and  76.70       80.40         3.70       112
         and  112.86      120.85        7.99       439          70%
  02RD005     12.90       16.45         3.55        73          70%         20,245    10,500   -50.0   180.0    52.60
    And       24.50       25.24         0.74        68
    And       28.93       30.46         1.53       188
        inc.  28.93       29.73         0.80       265
     SECTION              No surface
      10,450                  trench
  02RD004     28.07       29.35         1.28       172                      20,255    10,450   -50.0   180.0    49.80
         and  38.50       42.48         3.98       654          75%
     SECTION            Trench RT9 -
      10,400               5m@455g/t
                               Ta205
  02RD003     18.93       29.52        10.59       589          90%         20,266    10,400   -50.0   180.0    35.10
        inc.  21.70       28.20         6.50       912
  02RD013      9.04        9.82         0.78       107                      20,329    10,400   -50.0   180.0    135.40
         and  20.38       21.79         1.41       179
         and  31.31       32.38         1.07        55
         and  35.84       37.68         1.84       129
         and  81.01       82.18         1.17        91
         and  88.78       90.88         2.10       202
         and  95.37       115.55       20.18       241          75%
     SECTION              No surface
      10,350                  trench
  02RD002     28.18       35.05         6.87       297          85%         20,280    10,350   -50.0   180.0    40.60
        inc.  29.28       32.05         2.77       655
        inc.  29.28       31.69         2.41       730
     SECTION              Trench RT6
      10,300            -9.5m@609g/t
                               Ta205
  02RD001     49.43       58.50         9.07       541          80%         20,221    10,300   -50.0   360.0    65.25
        inc.  51.30       56.84         5.54       849
  02RD012     13.85       14.91         1.06       129                      20,171    10,300   -50.0   360.0    138.80
         and  63.57       64.50         0.93       122
         and  108.20      114.42        6.22        82          90%
        inc.  111.00      112.60        1.60       162
     SECTION              Trench RT6
      10,200            -7.5m@154g/t
                          Ta205 inc.
                         3.0m@319g/t
                               Ta205
  02RD006     49.55       56.24         6.69       141          75%         20,189    10,200   -50.0   360.0    64.30
        inc.  51.80       54.40         2.60       239
  02RD011     96.22       101.18        4.96       121          95%         20,139    10,200   -50.0   360.0    135.90
        inc.  99.10       100.25        1.15       336
     SECTION              Trench RT3
      10,100            -2.0m@242g/t
                               Ta205
  02RD007     38.50       41.55         3.05       1275         100%        20,186    10,100   -50.0   360.0    50.60
        inc.  39.30       40.97         1.67       2254
  02RD010     77.20       81.30         4.10       154          100%        20,131    10,100   -50.0   360.0    146.30
        inc.  80.25       81.30         1.05       469
     SECTION              No surface
      10,040                  trench
  02RD009     12.76       15.67         2.91       157                      20,125    10,040   -50.0   270.0    102.50
        inc.  14.46       15.67         1.21       210
         and  68.00       70.22         2.22       1041
        inc.  68.85       70.22         1.37       1604
     SECTION             Trench RT14
      10,000            -2.2m@323g/t
                               Ta205
  02RD008     12.66       25.60        12.94       131                      20,140    10,000   -50.0   360.0    52.60
        inc.  17.70       19.12         1.42       357
    and inc.  23.20       24.70         1.50       392
         and  35.65       36.33         0.68       103



Further information:

Patrick Cheetham, Executive Chairman, Tertiary Minerals plc. Tel: [phone]

Ron Marshman, City of London PR Ltd. Tel: [phone]

Note : Quality Control

All reported assays made by lithium metaborate fusion digest/ICP finish by
independent laboratory ALS Chemex, Canada. Drill core was crushed, pulverised
and submitted direct to ALS-Chemex by their associated laboratory Swedish
Geochemical Services (SGS) in Sweden.

Duplicate samples submitted by SGS to Lakefield Research in Canada for analysis
using pressed pellet XRF. Results of check assaying by this second alternative
analytical method show good correlation with samples assayed by ALS-Chemex.



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