Excellon Announces Start of Underground Drilling and Initiation of Resource Update.

TORONTO -- Excellon Resources Inc. (TSX VENTURE:EXN) is pleased to announce that the 4300 metre Phase 1 portion of its planned 7,500 metre underground drilling program has commenced at Excellon's Platosa Mine in north eastern Durango State, Mexico.Drill targets include a combination of the lateral projections of the mantos included in its NI 43-101 compliant calculation of indicated resources, mineralization encountered in mine development between the individual portions of such mantos, projections of mineralization encountered outside of the area of the indicated resource during the current test-mining program, and mineralization encountered in surface drilling outside of the immediate test-mining area.

Excellon is also pleased to announce that it has contracted Roscoe Postle & Associates Inc. (RPA), independent mining consultants, to update the calculation of the indicated resource contained in its September 26, 2002 report and incorporated into the mine plan detailed in its December 10, 2003 report on which the current test-mining program is based.RPA personnel have been continuously involved in the design and implementation of the test-mining program since its commencement in September 2004.The updated resource calculation is expected to be completed in early 2006.Readers are cautioned that mineral resources that are not classified as mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.

The Platosa Mine began production from the test mining of its 63,400 tonnes indicated resource grading 75 oz/tonne Silver, 12% Zinc and 15% Lead in June, 2005.Production has been ramping up over the last 5 months with more than 16,000 tonnes produced and shipped to the Penoles Naica milling operation to date.Ore is crushed on site, independently sampled by SGS Mineral Services, and sold F.O.B. the mine site to the Naica Mine Division of Industrias Penoles, the world's largest silver producer.Excellon receives payments for the ore shipped every two weeks based on a formula that incorporates tonnage shipped, contained metals, and the transportation, milling and smelting costs.

The target production rate of 6,000 tonnes/month is expected to be achieved by January, 2006, as mine development is advanced, crushing and shipping schedules are refined and the Naica milling operation is optimized with respect to the higher-grade Platosa mineralization.Mining is currently producing from three of the four mantos included in the 43-101 mineral resource calculation and the principal ramp is progressing towards the fourth.In addition to the mantos included in the 43-101 resource, a drift is being developed to the N-1 Manto which lies 85 metres to the northwest of the known resource and was discovered by drilling subsequent to the preparation of the RPA 43-101 resource report.

The higher grade mineralization identified in Manto 5 for direct shipping to a smelter has been sampled and selective mining and surface handling are currently being planned.It is anticipated that more than 8,000 tonnes may be selectively mined and upgraded by screening to more than 3,500 g/t silver to allow direct shipping to a smelter.Smelter terms for this high-grade mineralization are being negotiated.

Excellon's Chairman, Richard Brissenden, stated: "Excellon is starting to pick up real speed at Platosa.We are pleased with the progress of the mine development and production, the surface drilling program and the start of the underground drilling program.A regular cash flow has been established, we are approaching the planned production level, and the grade and tonnage of the 43-101 indicated resource are meeting expectations.Most importantly, as expected based on historic experience in Platosa-like Carbonate Replacement Deposits (CRDs) in Mexico, we are encountering significant amounts of mineralization outside the limits of the 43-101 indicated resource, enough to warrant a review and update of the current resource estimate.As well, new drill targets are being identified.We hope to document an increase in our calculated resource and expect that the knowledge gained from the underground mine development will allow for the upgrade of some areas to reserve status.We are looking forward to early results from a focused underground drilling program that is designed to expand the mineralization identified from surface drilling as well as in the underground mine development.

"Development of the mine has shown that, rather than occurring as a series of isolated flat-lying mantos, there are vertical chimney connections linking the mantos, giving a continuous series of alternating flat and vertical segments somewhat resembling a staircase.The vertical segments of mineralization were not identified in the surface drilling which defined the calculated resource and these have contributed to an increase in the tonnages mined to date.In addition to the vertical segments between the mantos, mine development has identified other significant mineralization in lateral extensions outside the mantos included in the calculated 43-101 resource.There is potential to link some of these lateral extensions to surface drill intercepts that were not incorporated in the initial interpretation of the "flat-lying orebody" model used for the resource calculations.At this point, the strategy of going underground on an open-ended resource for exploration and cash flow appears to be a sound one and we expect to increase the resource to a level that will at least sustain current production over a longer term, or at best provide for expansion to a full-scale operation."

The first 2,500 metres of the district-scale surface-based diamond drilling program initiated in September 2005 (see press release of September 8, 2005) has been completed.Although no apparent massive sulphides were encountered, assays are pending.Six holes, totalling approximately 2400 metres, were drilled near the old Dios de Bondad, Cerro Blanco and Refugio Mines in the south-western part of the combined Platosa-Saltierra Property.This ground is held under option from Exploraciones del Altiplano S.A. de C.V.The surface drill rig has been moved to drill 2,000 metres in the immediate Platosa Mine area to test extensions of mineralization indicated by the underground development to date, expand on the N-1 and NE-1 Mantos (see press release of March 17, 2005), and test targets indicated by biogeochemistry and NSAMT ("Natural Source Audio Magnetic Tellurics") geophysics.Following that, the surface drill rig will undertake a 2000 metre program on the portion of the Platosa property that Excellon holds under the joint venture with Apex Silver Mines Corporation.

Carbonate Replacement Deposits (CRDs) are epigenetic, intrusion-related, high-temperature sulphide-dominant Pb-Zn-Ag-Cu-Au-rich deposits that commonly occur in clusters associated with major regional geologic features.The Mexican CRD  Belt is perhaps the world's best developed CRD cluster and Platosa lies along the axis of the largest deposits of the belt.Several features make CRDs highly desirable mining targets including, (a) Size - CRDs average 10-15 million tons of ore and the largest range up to greater than 50+ million tons, (b) Grade - ores are typically polymetallic with metal contents ranging from 2-12% Pb; 2-18% Zn, 60-600 g/T Ag, Tr-2% Cu and Tr-6 g/T Au, (C) Deposit morphology - CRD orebodies within the overall deposit are continuous and average 0.5 to 2 million tons in size, with some up to 20 million tons.They are typically metallurgically straightforward, amenable to low-cost underground mining methods and the environmental impact is minimal.

CRD orebodies take the form of lenses or elongate to elongate-tabular bodies referred to as mantos or chimneys depending on whether they are roughly horizontal or steeply inclined.A spectrum of CRD orebodies exists ranging from distal manto and medial  chimney massive sulphide bodies to proximal sulphide-rich skarns associated with unmineralized or porphyry-type intrusive bodies. Transitions of orebody morphology and mineralogy, and alteration zoning can be used in exploration to trace mantos into chimneys, sulphides into skarn, or skarn into stock contact deposits.The Platosa Mine is exploiting very high-grade distal mantos with the medial areas being explored for increases in tonnages.Platosa's current exploration and underground mine development is focused on determining how exposed mineralization, alteration, intrusion types and host rocks in the Platosa area may indicate the location(s) of other mineralization in the typical spectrum.The current drilling program is designed to find this.

Qualified Person and Quality Assurance and Control

The Platosa exploration program is designed and supervised by Mr. A. D. MacKenzie, P. Eng., and Dr. Peter Megaw, respectively Excellon's President, and its Consulting Geologist and Exploration Manager of its Mexican subsidiary. Assaying and check-assaying is being performed by ALS-Chemex Laboratories of Vancouver and BSI  Inspectorate of Reno, Nevada.

Dr. Peter Megaw, Ph.D., C.P.G., has acted as the Qualified Person as defined in N.I. 43-101, for this disclosure and supervised the preparation of the technical information on which this release is based.Dr. Megaw has a Ph.D. in geology and more than 20 years of relevant experience focused on silver and gold mineralization, and exploration and drilling in Mexico.He is a Certified Professional Geologist (CPG 10227) by the American Institute of Professional Geologists and an Arizona Registered Geologist (ARG 21613).Dr. Megaw is not independent of Excellon as he is a shareholder and his company receives a finder's fee with respect to the Platosa/Saltierra property.

On behalf of

EXCELLON RESOURCES INC.

Signed:                 Signed:

A. Douglas MacKenzie,   Richard W. Brissenden,
President               Chairman

The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the content of this Press Release, which has been prepared by management.

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 27E of the Exchange Act.Such statements include, without limitation, statements regarding future anticipated exploration program results, the discovery and delineation of mineral deposits/resources/reserves, business and financing plans, business trends and future operating revenues.Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct.Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: believe, expect, anticipate, intend, estimate, postulate and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events.The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking statements by the Company are not guarantees of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward looking statements as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to, variations in the nature, quality and quantity of any mineral deposits that may be located, the Company's ability to obtain any necessary permits, consents or authorizations required for its activities, to produce minerals from its properties successfully or profitably, to continue its projected growth, to raise the necessary capital or to be fully able to implement its business strategies.

All of the Company's public disclosure filings may be accessed via www.sedar.com and readers are urged to review these materials, including the technical reports filed with respect to the Company's mineral properties..This press release contains information with respect to adjacent or similar mineral properties in respect of which the Company has no interest or rights to explore or mine.The Company advises US investors that the US Securities and Exchange Commission's mining guidelines strictly prohibit information of this type in documents filed with the SEC.Readers are cautioned that the Company has no interest in or right to acquire any interest in any such properties, and that mineral deposits on adjacent or similar properties are not indicative of mineral deposits on the Company's properties.

This press release is not, and is not to be construed in any way a s, an offer to buy or sell securities in the United States.

Excellon Resources Inc. (TSX VENTURE:EXN)