Cove Capital to mine tungsten in Kazakhstan as part of deal announced by Trump

(Patria) - Mining investment firm Cove Capital will develop a large tungsten deposit in Kazakhstan with state-owned mining company JSC Tau-Ken Samruk, Reuters reported.

The deal is part of a series of agreements announced between Washington and Astana aimed at strengthening economic partnerships between the countries.

Cove Capital will control seventy percent of the joint venture and metal sales, while Tau-Ken Samruk will control the remaining thirty percent, according to a document seen by Reuters.

The development costs for the North Katpar and Upper Kairakty projects, in the east of the country, are estimated at $1.1 billion, and the US Export-Import Bank has issued a letter of interest for $900 million in financing. Tungsten, which is used to harden steel in a number of industries, is considered a critical mineral by the US government.

The US has not mined this metal since 2015, and China is by far the world's largest producer.

Metal supplies from the projects in Kazakhstan will be used "to prioritize US government and US commercial needs," according to the document.

"This is a generational win for the US and its critical mineral needs," Cove CEO Pini Althaus told Reuters.

Althaus, who was previously CEO of USA Rare Earth, said that US President Donald Trump and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick personally helped negotiate the deal to prevent Chinese companies from developing these deposits.

"This was simply a very underexplored part of the world, from the US perspective, and vice versa," Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said at the C5+1 business conference at the Kennedy Center on Thursday, which was also attended by Kazakh officials.

Construction of the mine is expected to begin within two years, production within three and a half years, and refining will also take place within Kazakhstan, Althaus said.