Drilling Report

Tertiary Minerals PLC
21 August 2001



                            TERTIARY MINERALS PLC

                                 TEST RESULTS

    TESTS INDICATE THAT HIGH GRADE TANTALUM CONCENTRATE CAN BE PRODUCED AT
                                  TERTIARY'S

                         ROSENDAL DEPOSIT IN FINLAND

  * Lakefield Research Describes First Two Tests As 'Highly Promising'
  * Good Tantalum Recovery with Further Improvement Possible
  * Sampling Carried Out By Geological Survey of Finland

Tertiary Minerals plc is pleased to announce that the results of the first
preliminary metallurgical tests on samples from its Rosendal tantalum deposit
demonstrate that the ore is amenable to a low-cost gravity concentration
method and that a high-grade tantalum concentrate can be produced with
recoveries similar to those obtained in existing commercial operating plants.

The testwork programme is being carried out by Lakefield Research Canada Ltd
and results have been reported for the first two of ten planned gravity
concentration tests.

The first two tests were not optimised but nevertheless, test G1 recovered
73.6% of the total contained tantalum into a rougher concentrate which was
then cleaned to a concentrate grading 44.5% tantalum pentoxide (Ta2O5), whilst
test G2 (at a finer grind size than test G1) recovered 64.3% of the contained
tantalum into a rougher concentrate cleaned to a concentrate grading 40.5%
Ta2O5.

Lakefield Research has described the results as 'highly promising' and has
stated that 'further improvement in recovery may be achieved'. Lakefield has
also stated that a higher grade of concentrate could be achieved (i.e. greater
than 50% Ta2O5) through separation of sulphide minerals contained in the
gravity concentrate.

The testwork sample was collected by the Geological Survey of Finland on
contract to the company and is composited from five surface trenches. It has a
head grade of 620g/t Ta2O5, 28% higher than the average grade of previous
samples taken over the same area.

The Rosendal pegmatite is estimated by the Geological Survey of Finland to
contain1.3 million tonnes to a vertical depth of 100m with an average grade
from previous surface sampling and limited drilling of 289g/t Ta2O5. It is
located on the southwest coast of Finland adjacent to an existing industrial
minerals process plant and ship-loading facilities.

Testwork is continuing and will include an investigation of the recovery of
the industrial minerals, feldspar and quartz, which comprise the bulk of the
tantalum bearing pegmatite.

The company is now planning the next stage in evaluation of the deposit to
include infill drilling and economic scoping studies.

Further Information:

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

John Greenhalgh, City of London PR. Tel: [phone]