American Tungsten Mining Operation In Kazakhstan Looks To Get Started This Summer


Dominic Heaton (third, right), CEO of Cove Kaz Capital, discusses a $1.1 billion tungsten mine deal with Yersayin Nagaspayev (third, left), Kazakhstan’s Minister of Industry and Construction, and Nariman Absametov (second, right), Board Chairman of state-owned Tau-Ken Samruk, in March 2026. About a month later, Cove Kaz Capital and Tau-Ken Samruk inked the deal. (Photo: gov.kz)

May 4, 2026 
 Eurasianet
By Alexander Thompson

(Eurasianet) — A deal announced at the White House last year for an American company to mine tungsten in Kazakhstan is moving forward after the company closed the deal with the country’s state-owned mining company.

At almost the same time, Cove Kaz Capital, the American mining entity, and a shell company in which US President Donald Trump’s sons reportedly have a significant stake, announced an intention to merge, according to a report published by the Financial Times. The merged entity would seek to become a publicly traded company.

Cove Kaz Capital, a subsidiary of American mining company Cove Capital, indicated no major changes to the terms and scope of the $1.1 billion project that was first laid out last November at the C5+1 summit between Trump and the leaders of the five Central Asian states. The company confirmed that further exploration work will begin this summer.

“The financial closing of the share purchase agreement is a significant mile marker” for the project, Pini Althaus, the CEO of Cove Capital and executive chairman of the Kazakh operation, said in an April 29 statement.

Althaus thanked the Kazakh side for their “outstanding partnership” on regulatory approvals that will allow the company to start feasibility studies this summer, according to the statement. That process will take about 18 months to complete, the company said.

Cove Kaz Capital’s development of the Northern Katpar and Upper Kairakty deposits, estimated to hold 1.4 million tons of tungsten trioxide, represents a flagship initiative in the Trump administration’s efforts to widen US access to Central Asia’s abundance of critical minerals and rare earths. It is also one of the only significant American critical minerals mining projects in the region, other than an antimony mine in Tajikistan that has been operating for many years.

In the deal, Cove Kaz Capital purchased 70 percent of the project’s shares and Tau-Ken Samruk, the national mining company, received 30 percent. Cove Kaz Capital is leading the project’s development.

Just hours after the closing was announced, Cove Kaz Capital announced plans to merge with Skyline Builders Group Holding Ltd. The combined company intends to be listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange as Kaz Resources Inc., according to a joint statement issued by the two entities.

The Financial Times reported April 30 that Trump’s sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, invested in Skyline Builders Group in August of last year and expanded their investment in October.

Althaus told the Financial Times he has not spoken with the Trump brothers. The pair’s initial investment in Skyline Builders Group came before Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev informed the White House in September that Kazakhstan was leaning towards awarding the tungsten development contract to Cove Kaz. The deal was publicly announced last November.

Democrats and former American ethics officials have raised concerns about the Trump family’s expanding investments in countries and sectors connected to the president’s foreign policy initiatives.Alexander Thompson is a journalist based in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, reporting on current events across Central Asia. He previously worked for American newspapers, including the Charleston, S.C., Post and Courier and The Boston Globe.