The Trump administration has signaled it may offer up to $900 million to help a U.S. company develop one of the world’s largest untapped deposits of tungsten in Kazakhstan, a country bordered by Russia on the north and China to the east.
The move on Thursday signifies the government’s desire to secure a critical mineral the Pentagon needs to build weapons.
Cove Capital LLC announced that it has created a joint venture with the National Mining Company of Kazakhstan, or JSC Tau-Ken Samruk, with backing from the federal government.
According to Cove Capital, the U.S. Export-Import Bank has issued a letter of interest for $900 million in financing for the project. The company said the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation has also issued a letter of interest, but it was not immediately available.
The deal marks yet another agreement the Trump administration has hammered out to shore up critical minerals abroad after launching a critical minerals “club” this month to counter China’s control of the markets. Members so far include Australia, Japan, Malaysia and Thailand.
Pini Althaus, the CEO of Cove Capital and Cove Kaz Capital, said in a statement that President Donald Trump and his administration, including Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, brought the “acquisition to the finish line.” Lutnick was seen signing a memorandum of understanding with top officials from Kazakhstan in a photo posted on X on Thursday.
The deal arrived as Trump welcomed leaders from Central Asia to Washington, D.C., for the C5+1 summit. It also arrives on the heels of Trump traversing Asia and inking deals with minerals at the forefront.
Kazakhstan is the world’s top uranium producer and has deposits of rare earth elements, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, but did not list tungsten in the report.
Cove Capital said the deal is focused on two key deposits of tungsten and molybdenum ore — known as the Northern Katpar and Upper Kairakty — that are located less than 20 miles apart by road in the Karaganda mining district in Central Kazakhstan, less than 100 miles south of the city of Karaganda.
As it stands, China currently controls more than 80 percent of global tungsten production and processing and moved to restrict exports in February, leaving the U.S. scrambling to find domestic sources.
The Trump administration is also looking within the U.S. to shore up more supplies. The DOD has doled out nearly $6.2 million for Guardian Metals to complete a pre-feasibility study for a tungsten deposit near Hawthorne, Nevada, and recently met with Patriot Critical Minerals, which is angling to develop deposits in Elko County, Nevada.
“We’ve met with the [Department of Defense], and what we’re hearing is that they feel like they’re 10 to 15 years behind on developing these types of projects, and they want to be able to help support and advance these quickly,” said Brodie Sutherland, CEO of Patriot Critical Minerals.
