Pan American Silver announces public offering of common shares

VANCOUVER, April 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Pan American Silver Corp. (PAAS: NASDAQ; PAA: TSX) announced today that it will file a preliminary prospectus supplement to its existing US$150 million base shelf prospectus with the securities regulatory authorities in the provinces of Canada and will make a similar filing with the SEC in connection with a public offering of approximately 5.75 million common shares (the "Offering").

The Company will also grant to the underwriters an option, exercisable for a period of 30 days following the closing of the Offering, to purchase additional common shares, subject to a maximum Offering size of US$150 million.

The Company expects to use the net proceeds of this Offering primarily for the construction and development of its Manantial Espejo silver project in Argentina and the remainder for working capital and general corporate purposes.

Bear Stearns & Co. Inc. and BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc. will act as joint book-runners for the Offering, with CIBC World Markets Inc., Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, Canaccord Capital Corporation and National Bank Financial Inc. acting as co-managers in the underwriting syndicate.

Once filed, a copy of the preliminary prospectus supplement and the base shelf prospectus may be obtained from:

------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bear Stearns & Co. Inc. BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc. Attn: Prospectus Department Prospectus Department (B-2 Level) 383 Madison Avenue 1 First Canadian Place New York, NY 10179 Toronto, Ontario M5X 1H3 Tel: [phone] Attn: Des Raposo, Dist. Centre Tel : [phone] Ext. 224 -------------------------------------------------------------------------

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy common shares nor shall there be any sale of such securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.

Pan American Silver Corp. is one of the world's largest publicly traded primary silver producers with mining operations and development projects in Mexico, Peru, Argentina, Bolivia and the United States.

For Further Information Contact: Pan American Silver Corp. [phone]