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                                                                    EXHIBIT 23.3

                                        
                       CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT ACCOUNTANTS


We hereby consent to the inclusion in this Registration Statement on
Pre-Effective Amendment No. 3 to Form S-1 and the related Prospectus of our
report dated January 17, 1997 except as to Note 4 for which the date is January
22, 1997 on the financial statements of SIMCALA, Inc. and to the reference to
our firm under the heading "Experts" included in this Registration Statement and
the related Prospectus.

Our audit of the financial statements referred to in our aforementioned report
also included the financial statement schedule of the Company as of and for the
year ended December 31, 1996, listed in Item 16. This financial statement
schedule is the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility
is to express an opinion based on our audit. In our opinion, such financial
statement schedule, when considered in relation to the basic financial
statements taken as a whole, presents fairly in all material respects the
information set forth therein.


                                       /s/ Crowe, Chizek and Company LLP

Oak Brook, Illinois
July 27, 1998