[THE GENERAL CHEMICAL GROUP INC. LOGO]

NEWS RELEASE

Media Contact:                              Investor Contact:
Gia L. Oei, 603-929-2489                    David S. Graziosi, 973-599-5507
Gia.Oei@LatonaAssociates.com                DGraziosi@GenChem.com

        General Chemical Group To Consolidate Calcium Chloride Operations

HAMPTON, N.H., Dec. 3, 2002 -- The General Chemical Group Inc. (OTC Bulletin
Board: GNMP) will take an after-tax charge of approximately $7.5 million, or
$1.92 per diluted share, during the fourth quarter of 2002 in connection with
the closure of its Manistee, Mich., facility and consolidation of its North
American calcium-chloride production at its Amherstburg, Ontario, facility by
year-end. The charge will include a $6.5 million non-cash write-down of the
value of the idled plant assets, as well as severance and other cash charges of
approximately $1 million.

         The Amherstburg facility's annual rated capacity of 450,000 flake
equivalent tons is sufficient to meet all of General Chemical's anticipated
customer requirements for liquid and flake calcium chloride. The company has
developed multiple feedstock sources for the Amherstburg operation including
brine from General Chemical's wells on site and in Manistee, Mich., as well as
third-party suppliers in Southern Ontario.

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About The General Chemical Group Inc.
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General Chemical Group is a leading producer of soda ash and calcium chloride,
serving worldwide markets. Calcium chloride is a versatile industrial product
preferred for melting ice in winter and controlling dust in summer. Calcium
chloride is also a raw material in oil well drilling, petroleum refining, food
processing, asphalt recycling, newsprint de-inking, concrete admixtures, water
treatment and chemical processing. Additional information about the company and
its products is available online at www.genchem.com and www.gogenchem.com.

This announcement includes forward-looking statements. General Chemical has
based these forward-looking statements on its current expectations and
projections about future events. Although General Chemical believes that its
assumptions made in connection with the forward-looking statements are
reasonable, no assurances can be given that its assumptions and expectations
will prove to have been correct. These forward-looking statements are subject to
various risks, uncertainties and assumptions including among other things: The
Company's outstanding indebtedness and its leverage, the restrictions imposed by
its indebtedness, and the Company's ability to comply with these restrictions;
the Company's ability to obtain or develop sufficient calcium chloride brine
sources on satisfactory terms; the Company's ability to complete and start-up a
calcium chloride joint venture in China; fluctuations in the world market price
for soda ash due to changes in supply and demand; fluctuations in prices for
calcium chloride in North America due to changes in supply and demand; increases
in the Company's energy, transportation or labor costs; future modifications to
existing laws and regulations affecting the environment, health and safety; and
discovery of unknown contingent liabilities, including environmental
contamination, at its facilities. General Chemical undertakes no obligation to
publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of
new information, future events or otherwise. In light of these risks,
uncertainties and assumptions, the forward-looking events discussed in this
announcement might not occur.