2005

Silvercorp Retains a leading Chinese Engineering Company for Metallurgical Testing and Mine & Mill Design

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA—Silvercorp Metals Ltd. ("Silvercorp") is pleased to report that one of China's leading mining engineering firms, Changsha Engineering & Research Institute of Nonferrous Metallurgy ("CINF") has been retained to perform metallurgical testing and mine & mill design for the Company's high-grade Ying Silver Project, Henan Province, China. The mine & mill design, which is a prerequisite for the issuance of the mining permit, is expected to be completed by August . CINF's work, which includes completing a process flowsheet charting the steps to production, will also significantly advance the Ying production goal of 100,000 tonnes of high grade ore in 2006 and 200,000 tonnes of high grade ore per year from 2007 onwards.

Test milling of the Ying silver-lead and silver-lead-zinc ores carried out by two offsite mills has confirmed that processing can be completed by conventional flotation flowsheet with over 90% recovery for silver and lead and 80% recovery for zinc. Newly proposed metallurgical testing will include three types of process: manually separation, dense media separation and flotation, aiming to optimize metal recoveries and reduce costs.

CINF was selected based on its repeated success in meeting t he Chinese Mining Industry's requirements in bringing mineral deposit into commercial production. Formed in 1953, CINF is ISO9001 certified and has provided consulting services for over 1,300 mine and civic engineering projects in China and internationally. CINF's major mining and infrastructure projects include Hubai silver mines; Hunan and Guangdong lead-zinc mines; Jianxi and Hunan tungsten mines; Dexin, Daye and Tonglin copper mines; Zhuzhou, Zigong and Nachang cemented carbide project; Guizhou mercury mines; Henan molybdenum mines; Guilaizhuang, Huangshilao, Qianhe and Shaanxi JCL gold mines; Zhuzhou, Shaoguang and Liuzhou lead-zinc smelters; and, Guangxi Lanbin Smelter (for tin and indium).

The work being performed by CINF will augment the on-going work being performed by the 25 professional geologists, engineers and surveyors currently on the Ying property. Silvercorp's on-site professionals oversee the 400+ miners working on 23 development and exploration faces on a day-to-day basis.


For further information: SILVERCORP METALS INC., Rui Feng, Chairman & CEO
Phone: (604) 669-9397, Fax: (604) 669-9387, Email: info@silvercorp.ca, Website: www.silvercorp.ca

Statements in this press release other than purely historical information, including statements relating to the Company's future plans and objectives or expected results, constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on numerous assumptions and are subject to all of the risks and uncertainties inherent in the Company's business, including risks inherent in mineral exploration and development. As a result, actual results may vary materially from those described in the forward-looking statements.