Holding in Company

Elementis PLC
21 May 2001

                  DEALINGS BY SUBSTANTIAL SHAREHOLDERS


1)   NAME OF COMPANY

     ELEMENTIS PLC

2)   NAME OF SHAREHOLDER HAVING A MAJOR INTEREST

     SILCHESTER INTERNATIONAL INVESTORS LIMITED

3)   Please state whether notification indicates that it is in respect of 
     holding of the Shareholder named in 2 above or in respect of a 
     non-beneficial interest or in the case of an individual holder if it is a
     holding of that person's spouse or children under the age of 18



4)   Name of the registered holder(s) and, if more than one holder, the 
     number of shares held by each of them.

     PLEASE SEE FOLLOWING PAGES

5)   Number of shares/amount of stock acquired.

     PLEASE SEE FOLLOWING PAGES


6)   ( N/A %) of issued Class

7)   Number of shares/amount of stock disposed



8)   ( N/A %) of issued Class

9)   Class of security

     ORDINARY SHARES OF 5p

10)  Date of transaction

     18 MAY 2001

11)  Date company informed

     21 MAY 2001

12)  Total holding following this notification


     56,309,764 ORDINARY SHARES          
              
13)  Total percentage holding of issued class following this notification

     13.05%

14)  Any additional information



15)  Name of contact and telephone number for queries

     KERIN WILLIAMS
     020 7398 1439

16)  Name and signature of authorised company official responsible for 
     making this notification

     Date of Notification ....21 MAY 2001....................



Letter to Elementis dated 18th May 2001

We act as an Investment Manager for a number of large institutional investors
and for a number of commingled funds. In acting for our Clients, we are given
full discretion over the investments, and are empowered to vote on their behalf.
However, we do not act as their Custodian, and therefore shares are not held in
our name, but in the nominee name of their Custodian Bank.

Recent purchases/sales of shares in your company by ourselves, on behalf of our
clients, have resulted in our having control over the following shares (also see
accompanying text):

SILCHESTER:              56,309,764         Ordinary Shares

Our records show that you have the following shares in that class

ELEMENTIS:               431,400,000        Ordinary Shares

As such, we exercise control over 13.05% of the shares of that class.

Letter from Silchester International Investors Limited

Company:            Elementis          Address: One Great Tower Street
Share Class:        ORD                         London
Issued Shares:      431,400,000                 EC3R 5AH
SII Ownership:      56,309,764          % of Class 13.05%  Date: 18th May 2001



SII Account   Nominee               %    Share Holding  Voting Authority

GROUP          Northern Trust Co  3.28      14,155,605     YES
GTINV          Northern Trust Co  0.16         702,000     YES
LICRF          Bankers Trust      0.23       1,011,000     YES
MOSER          Bankers Trust      0.75       3,215,000     YES
PATCH          Northern Trust Co  0.38       1,623,500     YES
SBC            Mellon Trust       0.35       1,505,000     YES
SIEBT          Northern Trust Co  6.84      29,500,744     YES
SOLAR          Daiwa Europe Bank  0.17         747,000     YES
TEXAS          Northern Trust Co  0.38       1,658,000     YES
TRUST          Northern Trust Co  0.23         970,895     YES
VITAL          Northern Trust Co  0.28       1,221,020     YES
TOTAL:                                      56,309,764