Productivity at the San Gregorio mine in Uruguay continued to improve with the workforce standing at approximately 168 versus 278 in the first quarter of 1998. The ounces of gold produced per-person per-month were 39.7 compared with 25.6 during the 1998 first quarter, a 55% improvement. The increase in gold production during the quarter resulted from optimizing key parameters in the sag mill operation, which raised the number of tonnes processed per day 7% over the 1998 first quarter, from 2,769 to 2,953. In addition, the grade of ore processed during the first quarter 1999 increased to 2.51 grams per tonne, a 6 % improvement over the comparable quarter of 1998.

Improvements in maintenance and scheduling resulted in an increase in tonnes mined per day from 17,319 tonnes in first quarter of 1998 to 21,362 tonnes in first quarter 1999, up 23%. During the quarter, the mine was operated six days per week as opposed to seven days per week in 1998. This allowed one day per week for maintenance to the drilling, loading and hauling fleet and also allowed us to reduce the workforce by one entire mining crew, thus lowering labor costs. The improved maintenance has increased the number of drilling hours which, in turn has increased the inventory of blasted material. Blasting has also been optimized. The resulting improved fragmentation of material has made loading more efficient with less wear on the equipment due to oversize. In addition, the size of the blasts increased steadily reducing the number of blasting days and the attendant disruption to mining operations. The largest single blast to date produced 400,000 tonnes of material, a 20 day inventory. This compares with up to five blasts per week during 1998.

On January 1, 1999 the mineable reserves at the San Gregorio project stood at 7.87 million metric tonnes averaging 1.77 g/t Au and containing 448,000 ounces of gold (0.5 g/t Au cutoff).Total mineral deposits at the same 0.5 g/t Au cutoff aggregate 12.69 million metric tonnes grading 1.52 g/t Au. The reserves and mineral deposits at San Gregorio have been verified by Sitka Corporation, an independent engineering company headquartered in Seattle, Washington. Drilling continued through the first quarter of 1999 at the Santa Teresa West satellite deposit. Upon completion of this program, new reserve calculations will be made for the Santa Teresa West and the adjoining Santa Teresa deposit. The next exploration phase at San Gregorio will consist of diamond drilling aimed at testing the westerly down plunge continuity of the San Gregorio main ore body. Additionally over the past few months, regional exploration concentrated on the Vaca Muerta showing in the Rivera Crystalline Island. The results of mapping, auger soil sampling, heavy mineral sampling and rock sampling albeit early stage have been encouraging. Several anomalous zones have been identified, some up to 600 meters long and with clusters of anomalous soil values in the 200 ppb to 3500 ppb range. Additional exploration is on going.

Crystallex's President and Chief Executive officer, Marc J. Oppenheimer said, "We are very pleased that the positive effects of our changes at the San Gregorio mine and mill that began to manifest themselves in the fourth quarter of last year have continued even stronger in the first quarter of 1999. Along with these productivity improvements, the Company continues its exploration of the area in order to replace reserves and extend the mine's life."

Crystallex International Corporation is a gold mining and exploration company. The Company's strategy for growth is to develop its portfolio of properties in South America as well as to diversify geographically by investing in producing or near-production projects and by exploring properties of merit in other areas of the world.

On Behalf of the Board:

Marc J. Oppenheimer, President & CEO

Note:

This news release may contain certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding potential mineralization and reserves, exploration results, and future plans and objectives of Crystallex, are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations are disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in documents filed from time to time with The Toronto Stock Exchange, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulatory authorities.

The Toronto Stock Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.