Quarterly Report

Tertiary Minerals PLC
30 April 2003



                            www.tertiaryminerals.com

                              QUARTERLY REPORT ON
                             EXPLORATION ACTIVITIES
                       FOR THE PERIOD ENDED 31 MARCH 2003
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                                   HIGHLIGHTS

                        GHURAYYAH TANTALUM      Positive Scoping Study Completed
                        -NIOBIUM PROJECT

                                        Base-Case Gives 3 Year Pay-Back Of $101
                                        Million Capital Cost

                                Feasibility Studies Recommended


                        FINNMARK PGE PROJECT   Drill programme completed, assays
                                               awaited

                        ___________________________________________________________________


INTRODUCTION

This report gives details and results of exploration work carried out during the
quarter ended 31March 2003 and up to the date of this report.



TANTALUM PROJECTS

GHURAYYAH (Saudi Arabia) - Tertiary Minerals 100%

During the quarter the Scoping Study for development of the Ghurayyah
tantalum-niobium deposit in Saudi Arabia was completed with positive results.

The Study included financial modelling of a number of alternative processing
flowsheets over an initial 20-year mine life with costs estimated to an accuracy
of +/- 30%. On a 100% equity funded, un-escalated basis the four main flowsheets
were all economically attractive. Each produced pre-tax Internal Rates of Return
(IRR) in excess of 25% and Net Present Values (NPV) in the range $55-285 million
using discount rates between 10 and 20%.



The Base-Case returned the highest NPV and IRR. It considered:

   •mining of 1.52 million tonnes ore per annum over an initial 20 year
    period;

   •production of tantalum-niobium concentrate containing 600,000 lbs per
    annum of tantalum pentoxide (Ta205), and 6.3 million lbs per annum of
    niobium pentoxide (Nb205) and separate saleable zircon concentrate (10,000
    tonnes per annum) by flotation and magnetic separation of ore after crushing
    /grinding;

   •aluminothermic reduction (smelting) of the concentrate to a
    low-radioactivity iron-niobium-tantalum alloy ('the ATR alloy'), and

   •further processing of the ATR alloy to saleable ferro-niobium (for use in
    the steel industry) and salts of tantalum and niobium (for use by refiners
    of tantalum and niobium metals, powders and oxides in the manufacture of
    capacitors and special alloys).

This flowsheet is based on a commercial flowsheet currently employed at the
Pittinga tin-tantalum-niobium mine in Brazil.

The Base-Case financial model gives a payback of three years on capital costs of
$101 million, average annual revenues of $106 million and average annual
operating costs of $51 million.

The Base-Case financial model uses current prices for niobium products and
tantalum product prices factored to the tantalum concentrate prices forecast by
Metal Bulletin Research. It should be noted that current spot prices for
tantalum are at lower levels than both historical averages and MBR future
forecast prices. The vast majority of tantalum is not sold on a spot basis but
on long term contract prices which are considerably in excess of current spot
prices.

The Base-Case flowsheet envisages the downstream production of tantalum and
niobium salts and ferro-niobium as these products are currently traded on world
markets and price information is readily available. However, Tertiary's
objective for Ghurayyah, at least in the first years of production, is to
process the ore only as far as is necessary to establish marketable 'raw
materials' for sale to existing processors.

Consequently the Scoping Study has considered a number of alternative flowsheets
where the concentrates are smelted into different intermediate tantalum and
niobium alloys and synthetic concentrates, including the ATR alloy, an
intermediate product in the Base-Case flowsheet. During smelting the uranium and
thorium contained in the concentrates are separated into a relatively inert slag
for disposal.

Ghurayyah intermediate 'raw materials' have a higher ratio of niobium-tantalum
than is normal for tantalum raw materials and whilst the Pittinga mine has
successfully made and sold such intermediate products in the past, future prices
for these materials can only be established by negotiation with tantalum and
niobium processors. The scoping study has established preliminary specifications
and target prices for intermediate products based on acceptable rates of return
and estimated costs of production.

Whilst intermediate products have the disadvantage of higher niobium-tantalum
ratios this will be less of a disadvantage if the use of niobium capacitors
grows as anticipated. The low levels of uranium and thorium will be a distinct
advantage as competitor raw materials (tantalite and columbite concentrates)
have variably higher levels of 'natural' radioactivity. The acceptable limits of
uranium and thorium for import of these materials into 1st-world processing
countries are becoming increasingly restrictive.

The flowsheets involving the production of alloy and synthetic concentrate 'raw
materials' involve a lower degree of process risk than the Base-Case. Some also
have lower capital costs and may prove more attractive to the Company if
adequate sales contracts can be negotiated. Discussions with potential
purchasers of Ghurayyah products have begun.

The project-financing environment in Saudi Arabia is very attractive with
Government funding available on low interest terms for, typically, 50% of
capital costs through the Saudi Industrial Development Fund. In addition,
project finance guarantees and low cost debt funding may be available for a
further 37.5% of capital costs through the British Aerospace Project Finance
Initiative administered by British Offset which is already supporting the
project having funded a part of the company's metallurgical development
programme. The net result of such funding is that the equity component of the
capital costs for the project could be as little as 12.5% of the total capital
requirement. This supportive project-financing environment gives the Ghurayyah
project a competitive advantage over other new tantalum projects currently on
the drawing-board.

The Study has recommended further feasibility studies and suggests a development
starting in 2006 when growth in the market for tantalum is expected to have
resumed. The Company is now investigating various sources of non-equity funding
to progress the recommended work programme.

The Study was carried out by St Barbara Consulting under the direction of senior
mineral processing consultant Richard Wilkinson, a metallurgist/chemical
engineer, who was formerly in charge of mineral processing research at Billiton.
Mine planning and costing was carried out by SRK Consulting whilst process plant
and infrastructure was costed by GBM Minerals Engineering Consultants.

The Inferred Minerals Resource at Ghurayyah has been estimated by SRK Consulting
at 385 million tonnes grading 245 g/t Ta205, 2,840 g/t Nb205, and 8,915 g/t
zirconium oxide (Zr02) sufficient for a mine life over 250 years at the Scoping
Study Base-Case production rate.



ROSENDAL (Finland) - Tertiary Minerals 100%

Following the successful conclusion of metallurgical testwork reported last
quarter, CSMA Consultants Ltd completed further financial evaluation as a part
of the preliminary feasibility study. This work evaluated capital and operating
costs for a contract mining operation feeding a gravity concentration plant
producing 60,000 pounds of Ta2O5 in high-grade tantalite concentrates. The
capital cost for a 125,000 tonne per annum plant was estimated at US$5.5
million.

The basis for the CSMA study was an Inferred Mineral Resource block model
compiled by SRK Consulting and estimated to contain 1.05 million tonnes at a
mean grade of 255ppm Ta2O5.

The results of CSMA pit-optimisation studies suggest a limited mine life based
on the current block model and low tantalum prices. CSMA concluded that a
resource of 1mt at an in-situ grade of approximately 390 ppm Ta205 would be
required in addition to higher tantalum prices to progress the project further
and that additional drilling at depth may be justified to increase the available
tonnage of higher-grade material.

The Rosendal pegmatite is currently open at depth and contains a number of
higher grade zones with potential to meet the future requirements for a
commercial operation and consideration will be given to advancing the project
when tantalum prices recover.



PLATINUM GROUP ELEMENT PROJECTS

FINNMARK (Norway) - Tertiary Minerals 100%

The drilling programme announced on 7 April has now finished. It was designed to
investigate the discovery of PGE mineralisation made by Tertiary in its recent
summer field programmes which identified a small outcrop containing low-grade
disseminated nickel and copper sulphide minerals in ultramafic rock. Two grab
samples averaged 2.5 grammes per tonne platinum (Pt) + palladium (Pd) + gold
(Au) with a Pt-Pd ratio of approximately 1:1 Subsequent geophysical exploration
identified a zone of anomalous chargeability associated with the PGE bearing
outcrop but extending for several hundred metres along strike.

Two drill holes tested the geophysical anomaly beneath the outcropping PGE
mineralisation and the third hole tested the anomaly 700m to the south and along
strike of low-grade copper-nickel mineralisation intersected in the 1970's. All
holes were drilled at -45 degrees west. A planned fourth hole was abandoned due
to abnormally warm weather conditions and concerns to minimise ground damage in
reduced snow depth during de-mobilisation of the drill rig.

Drill holes penetrated a rock sequence comprising, from east to west,
metasediments, gabbro, pyroxenite and peridotite.

The geophysical anomaly was found to be due to variably low levels of
disseminated and fracture-hosted sulphides minerals (predominantly iron
sulphides with minor copper sulphides) occurring mainly in the pyroxenite unit
and to a lesser degree in the peridotite. Similar low levels of sulphides were
associated with the PGE mineralisation in outcrop but until analytical results
are received no conclusions can be drawn regarding the PGE content of the
mineralisation intersected during the drilling programme.

Analytical results are expected by the end of May.



GOLD & BASE METAL PROJECTS

SWEDEN COPPER-GOLD PROJECTS - 100% Tertiary

Tertiary now holds two projects in the Norbotten district of Sweden where a
number of major mining companies and junior exploration companies hold
significant ground positions in a search for IOCG (iron-oxide-copper-gold)-type
deposits.

AHMAVUOMA - 100% Tertiary

Tertiary's Ahmavuoma project is an advanced copper-gold-cobalt exploration
project with previous drill intersections up to 43.15m (from 60.00m down hole)
grading 0.68% copper, 0.2g/t gold and 0.33% cobalt .

Tertiary has signed an agreement with previous project holder North Atlantic
Natural Resources (NAN) whereby it has acquired all of NAN's confidential
exploration data for the Ahmavuoma project in exchange for a 1.5% Net Smelter
Royalty payable to NAN from any future mining operations.

Prior to Tertiary acquiring the Ahmavuoma copper-gold project NAN carried out an
airborne TEM geophysical survey and follow up ground geophysics and base-of till
and bedrock sampling programmes.

The NAN data in conjunction with public exploration data has been used to define
a number of drill targets. These occur in low lying and boggy ground and further
drilling is provisionally scheduled for the winter of 2003/4 when frozen ground
will allow drill access.

NEW PROJECT - VEHKAVAARA (SWEDEN) - 100% Tertiary

The Company was granted exploration permit Vehkavaara 1 (24km2), located 100km
SW of Kiruna in the Norbotten District of Northern Sweden.

At Vehkavaara the target is a 4km long electromagnetic conductor with an
associated strong copper geochemical anomaly (over 1% copper in ashed peat
samples). The geological environment is similar to that at the Viscaria mine,
also in Norbotten which produced 12 million tonnes of ore grading 2.3% copper
and 0.3g/t gold from 1982-1997 and which is considered to be an IOCG-type
deposit.

FINLAND COPPER-GOLD PROJECTS - 100% Tertiary

During the quarter the Company carried out a programme of scout logging and
re-sampling of various drill cores from potential
iron-oxide-copper-gold-iron-oxide ('IOCG') targets in Finland.

Encouraging assay results were received from a number of areas and data
compilation and evaluation is continuing.


OTHER PROJECTS

Planning work was carried out for further exploration on a number of projects,
in particular at the NottrTM?sk nickel-copper-PGE project where a programme of
drill testing is scheduled for mid-May.


Patrick L. Cheetham  30 April 2003

Executive Chairman

Tel: [phone]

Fax: [phone]


                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange