Mr. Mark Trevisiol reports

SILVER BEAR ANNOUNCES PRIVATE PLACEMENT FINANCING WITH A STRATEGIC INVESTOR

Silver Bear Resources Inc. has entered into an agreement to complete a non-brokered private placement financing of 4,375,000 common shares of the company at an issue price of 80 cents for gross proceeds in the amount of $3.5-million.

Tabac Ventures Limited, a company affiliated with Aterra Capital, an investment fund established by Alexey Mordashov, has agreed to acquire all of the common shares to be issued in connection with the private placement. Mark Trevisiol, president and chief executive officer of Silver Bear, stated: "We are very pleased to have Tabac as a Silver Bear shareholder, a company controlled by Alexey Mordashov. This placement helps secure some of the capital needs of the company for the upcoming exploration season, but more importantly, brings a strategic shareholder into Silver Bear."

The closing of the private placement is expected to occur on or before March 31, 2012, and remains subject to receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals, including final Toronto Stock Exchange approval. The common shares will be subject to a statutory hold period of four months and one day. Upon closing of the private placement, it is anticipated that a nominee of Tabac will be appointed to the board of directors of the company.

The company intends to use the net proceeds of the private placement to finance exploration activities and improve infrastructure at the company's Mangazeisky property in Yakutia, Russia. The company is currently in the process of developing an exploration program for this coming summer. Additionally, the company is planning to spend up to $1.3-million on new equipment to be used for site infrastructure improvements.

As previously announced, the company has delineated a silver mineral resource estimate compliant with National Instrument NI 43-101 on its Mangazeisky property. The resource contains an inferred silver resource of 30.6 million ounces, averaging 554 grams per tonne, and an indicated silver resource of 19 million ounces, averaging 514 grams per tonne. (See Silver Bear news release dated March 28, 2011.)

Last fall (Sept. 28, 2011) the company released a preliminary economic analysis. Details of the study include operating costs in the range of $8 (U.S.) to $9 (U.S.) per ounce of silver on production of approximately 4.1 million ounces of silver per year. The PEA is preliminary in nature, includes inferred resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves, and there is no certainty that the estimates of the PEA will be realized.

Mark Trevisiol, PEng, president and CEO of Silver Bear, is a qualified person under National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information in this press release.

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