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To: scion who wrote (11860)	7/13/2003 6:29:46 PM
From: StockDung	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 19428

Crystallex International Corporation executives take a grilling at Toronto AGM VHeadline.com Canadian correspondent Al Emid reports: Interruptions caused by an apparently false alarm triggered outside the meeting room became the first of the headaches faced today by the executives of Canada-based Crystallex International Corporation (KRY) during the company’s annual general meeting at the Eaton Center Marriott Hotel here in Toronto. Laboring under questions about the ongoing review of the Crystallex listing by the Toronto Stock Exchange, the company’s merger and acquisition prospects, its capital- raising procedures, recent share price decreases, their ability to deal with stock market analysts, their own shareholdings and contributions to Crystallex and even their qualifications for their positions, Toronto financier and Crystallex chairman Robert A. Fung, president and CEO Marc J. Oppenheimer and COO Ken Thomas faced serious questioning from a series of shareholders, some of them Americans in Toronto for the meeting. Perhaps exacerbating an already intense situation, the Toronto Stock Exchange authorities yesterday announced the most recent of a series of extensions in its review of the Crystallex listing, this extension running until July 9. The listing review is connected to several issues surrounding Crystallex’s filings with the exchange. While the routine motions easily passed in voting, shareholders present wanted a recorded ballot for a vote authorizing the Crystallex board to issue up to 50 million new common shares in the company, a move apparently designed to relieve the company’s cash concerns and finance its operations in its Las Cristinas mining property in Bolivar State. Shareholders eventually passed the motion with 67.1% voting in favor and 32.39% voting against the financing strategy. Afterwards, Mr. Fung and Mr. Oppenheimer read from prepared Question-And-Answer sheets attempting to address various questions raised in the business press of Canada and the United States and investors in both countries. Before and after the Q&A readings, Messrs. Fung and Oppenheimer stressed their earlier decision not to elaborate on the questions and answers beyond the pre- packaged text. During his Q&A reading, Mr. Oppenheimer tackled issues such as prospects for a merger or acquisition by sidestepping any direct comment. Mr. Fung addressed a question about Mr. Oppenheimer’s credentials to lead the company, pointing to the latter’s previous experience. Questions from shareholders present amounted to a fairly intense grilling of Messrs. Fung, Oppenheimer and Thomas, pointing to a simmering unhappiness amongst shareholders on drops in value of company shares, currently trading around the Canadian $1.90 range in Toronto, down from its one-year high of C$3.85 but up from its one-year low of C$1.00. “I am personally disappointed in the share performance,” Mr. Fung conceded in response to a questioner, going on to promise that he and Messrs. Oppenheimer and Thomas would do everything possible to ‘maximize shareholder value’, a phrase reminiscent of pronouncements of executives of other Canadian companies caught up in M&A battles. “Everything that could have gone wrong has gone wrong,” he said, an apparent reference to problems such as revenue shortfalls from the company’s other mining properties as it focused its energies and resources on winning the battle against Vanessa Ventures (also Canada- based) for the right to take possession of the Las Cristinas properties, and initial costs beginning with US$15 million dollar payment to the government-controlled Venezuelan Guayana Corporation (CVG). One questioner suggested that at least part of the share price problems flowed from the company’s seeming inability to deal effectively with analysts at various stock brokerage houses an accusation that led to executive promises of greater communication with influential analysts. That promise, like others, can only be carried out after the release of a feasibility study currently underway by SNC-Lavalin Engineers & Constructors Inc. SNC-Lavalin’s mandate for the study includes scrutinizing the feasibility of the development, construction and operation of a gold and copper mining facility at Las Cristinas, routinely billed as the world’s largest undeveloped gold mine. Mr. Oppenheimer repeatedly styled the results of the feasibility study as "a turning-point-in-the-making" for the company. Speaking from the platform, he said that the study would enable Crystallex to court investment bankers, analysts, individual investors and deep-pocketed institutional investors for the necessary funding to bring Las Cristinas into full operation. Speaking to VHeadline.com Venezuela after the presentation, Oppenheimer refused to suggest a timeline for activities necessary to get Las Cristinas up and running. “Once we’ve got the study, we can go from there,” he said. Oppenheimer appeared less forthcoming on other questions, calling some of them inappropriate and refusing to elaborate in answering others. Journalist, broadcaster and college lecturer Al Emid has worked in US-Canadian financial news since studying at Ryerson University in Toronto. He says he's managed to keep both his ethics and his sanity through 36 years in journalism and among other accomplishments has worked for low-budget productions at TV Ontario. MEMBER LOGIN Username: Password: Register Now Forums Main Page Active Topics Private Messenger Search the Forums Search for Members WWW Directory Web Polls Member Preferences Password Reminder Email Alerts Your Email Web Design Contact Us News Desk Careers VH-Advertising to SEARCH all of VHeadline.com's editorial pages: vheadline.com

To: scion who wrote (11860)	7/13/2003 6:46:27 PM
From: StockDung	Respond to of 19428

LOL->Thom Calandra's StockWatch: Crystallex executive says shares are cheap Date: 6/10/2003 1:31:04 PM Eastern Standard Time From: CBS MarketWatcher <reports@marketwatchmail.com> To: XXXXXXXXXXXXXX Sent from the Internet (Details) Thom Calandra's StockWatch <a href="http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?column=Thom+Caland...>http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?column=Thom+Caland...</a> ============================ Our Sponsor ============================ THE SINGLE BIGGEST INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY OF 2003? Once you click on the link below you'll completely understand why this opportunity is so enormous... and why we're so confident we could significantly increase the value of your portfolio in 2003. Click below to <a href="http://www.agora-inc.com/reports/OXF/WOXFD541/">http://www.agora-inc.com/reports/OXF/WOXFD541/</a> ______________________________________________________________________ CRYSTALLEX CEO SAYS STOCK IS CHEAP SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) - The chief executive of Crystallex International Corp. on Tuesday called the gold miner's shares "severely undervalued" and said he is confident the company will develop its vast gold deposits in Venezuela. "We are not going to speculate on M&A at this time," Chief Executive Marc Oppenheimer said in an interview at the San Francisco Gold Forum. Crystallex (KRY) shares rose more than 20 percent earlier in the week after The Calandra Report (<a href="http://cbs.marketwatch.com/commerce/theCalandraReport.asp?si...>http://cbs.marketwatch.com/commerce/theCalandraReport.asp?si...</a>), a subscription service owned by CBS MarketWatch, quoted a mining analyst as saying he expects a bid for the entire company before its June 26 annual shareholder meeting. Crystallex shares have been under a cloud for years as it struggled to win government approvals to develop the vast Las Cristinas deposit amid the political turmoil of Venezuela. Those approvals came in September 2002, but investors are skeptical the tiny Toronto company can raise the several hundred million dollars necessary to turn the holding into a full-fledged gold mine. The first phase of the project would cost $250 million, Oppenheimer estimated on Tuesday. Robert Bishop of Gold Mining Stock Report (<a href="http://www.goldminingstockreport.com/">http://www.goldminingstockreport.com/</a>) told The Calandra Report that shares of Crystallex would double or triple after an offer from a mid-sized or large bullion miner. The size of Crystallex's Las Cristinas proven and probable gold reserves is almost 10 million ounces. "I think the company is building itself to be taken out," Bishop, a longtime mining analyst and financial writer, said. More later this week in The Calandra Report (<a href="http://cbs.marketwatch.com/commerce/theCalandraReport.asp?si...>http://cbs.marketwatch.com/commerce/theCalandraReport.asp?si...</a>). Crystallex's Oppenheimer said his company fully intends to pursue financing of the Venezuela deposit. "Our objective is to build the project. We've built the management team." _______________________________________________________________________ A former Barrick Corp. (ABX) officer, Ken Thomas, is now Crystallex chief operating officer, Oppenheimer noted. Crystallex had $34 million of debt as of March 31. Oppenheimer estimated the company's reserve assets - proven and provable gold ounces in the ground -- were worth as much as $45 a share. Crystallex shares Tuesday midday were selling for $1.20 on the American Stock Exchange. "Our ability to produce gold will not be limited by our reserves," he said at the gold forum, sponsored by Denver Gold Group, a trade organization. The CEO said he expects a feasibility study on the development of Las Cristinas into a 20,000-tonne-per-day open-pit mine to be published by SNC-Lavalin by September of this year. The company has hired Deutsche Bank to help arrange project financing. "Deutsche Bank has met with the Venezuela government, and I think that speaks for itself," he said. "I would make the argument that Crystallex's shares are severely undervalued." Oppenheimer and his fellow executives now must hope the investing public begins to feel the same way. _______________________________________________________________________ FIND OUT WHAT'S HAPPENING OFF WALL STREET Get a weekly roundup with the latest investment newsletter insights and strategies from star columnists Mark Hulbert, Peter Brimelow, Thom Calandra, and guest editors. Sign up to receive the free Investment Newsletter Insights <a href="http://cbs.marketwatch.com/subscriptions/subscriptions.asp?d...>Sign up to receive the free Investment Newsletter Insights</a> THE CALANDRA REPORT Thom's latest two speculative buys are up 50% and 15% in just 6 weeks. Find out who they are with The Calandra Report. In every issue, Thom utilizes his financial reporting and expertise to disclose investment favorites to help you assess your portfolio. 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To: scion who wrote (11860)	7/13/2003 6:54:07 PM
From: StockDung	Respond to of 19428

Crystallex CEO says stock is cheap Company declines comment on M&A speculation By Thom Calandra, CBS.MarketWatch.com Last Update: 2:15 PM ET June 10, 2003 SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) - The chief executive of Crystallex International Corp. on Tuesday called the gold miner's shares "severely undervalued" and said he is confident the company will develop its vast gold deposits in Venezuela. "We are not going to speculate on M&A at this time," Chief Executive Marc Oppenheimer said in an interview at the San Francisco Gold Forum. Crystallex (KRY: news, chart) shares rose more than 20 percent earlier in the week after The Calandra Report, a subscription service owned by CBS MarketWatch, quoted a mining analyst as saying he expects a bid for the entire company before its June 26 annual shareholder meeting. Crystallex shares have been under a cloud for years as it struggled to win government approvals to develop the vast Las Cristinas deposit amid the political turmoil of Venezuela. Those approvals came in September 2002, but investors are skeptical the tiny Toronto company can raise the several hundred million dollars necessary to turn the holding into a full-fledged gold mine. The first phase of the project would cost $250 million, Oppenheimer estimated on Tuesday. Robert Bishop of Gold Mining Stock Report told The Calandra Report that shares of Crystallex would double or triple after an offer from a mid-sized or large bullion miner. The size of Crystallex's Las Cristinas proven and probable gold reserves is almost 10 million ounces. "I think the company is building itself to be taken out," Bishop, a longtime mining analyst and financial writer, said. More later this week in The Calandra Report. Crystallex's Oppenheimer said his company fully intends to pursue financing of the Venezuela deposit. "Our objective is to build the project. We've built the management team." A former Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX: news, chart) officer, Ken Thomas, is now Crystallex chief operating officer, Oppenheimer noted. Crystallex had $34 million Canadian of debt as of March 31. Oppenheimer estimated that each $1 worth of Crystallex's Amex-traded shares is backed by $45 an ounce of gold as measured by the company's reserve assets - proven and provable gold ounces in the ground. That's at a $350-an-ounce gold price. Crystallex shares Tuesday midday were selling for $1.20 on the American Stock Exchange. They also trade in Toronto (CA:KRY: news, chart) . "Our ability to produce gold will not be limited by our reserves," he said at the gold forum, sponsored by Denver Gold Group, a trade organization. The CEO said he expects a feasibility study on the development of Las Cristinas into a 20,000-tonne-per-day open-pit mine to be published by SNC-Lavalin by September of this year. The company has hired Deutsche Bank to help arrange project financing. "Deutsche Bank has met with the Venezuela government, and I think that speaks for itself," he said. "I would make the argument that Crystallex's shares are severely undervalued." Oppenheimer and his fellow executives now must hope the investing public begins to feel the same way. Thom Calandra's StockWatch is CBS MarketWatch's flagship column. The regular report is in its eighth year at CBS.MarketWatch.com. Thom Calandra is also author of subscription service The Calandra Report.