2005

Silvercorp Arranges $4,000,000 Private Placement to

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, August 31 , 2005 – Silvercorp Metals Inc. ("Silvercorp") has arranged a private placement of 1,250,000 Units at $3.20 per Unit. Each Unit is comprised of one common share and one-half share purchase warrant. Each whole warrant entitles the holder to acquire an additional common share for a period of one year at $4.60 per share. The $4,000,000 proceeds of the placement will be added to working capital. In conjunction with the placement, one of the investors crossed a total of 917,700 shares in the market at $3.20 per share. The placement is subject to regulatory approval.

Silvercorp is focused on the development of its high grade Ying Silver project in Henan Province , China , where a US$5,000,000 exploration and development program is well underway. The program, which is designed to expand silver resources laterally and prepare for production, includes 13,000 meters (m) of tunneling, sinking of three vertical shafts to 330m depth, and 10,000m of underground drilling. The vein material extracted as a by-product of exploration tunneling to date is of such high grade that revenue from its sale has entirely offset the cost of the exploration and development (see August 8, 2005 Press Release). Exploration tunneling is also advancing development objectives by providing mining access. Steady progress is also being made in completing the prerequisites to the issuance of the mining permit.


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.