US state financial institutions — EXIM Bank and the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) — are not yet ready to approve financing for Cove Kaz Capital's tungsten project in Kazakhstan totaling $1.6 billion. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.
According to Bloomberg, which economist Arman Batayev drew attention to, creditors are concerned about the project's prospects and geopolitical risks, including Kazakhstan's proximity to China and Russia.
The project is supported by the administration of US President Donald Trump. Washington aims to reduce dependence on Chinese supplies of tungsten — a strategic metal used, in particular, in the production of missiles and artillery shells.
It is noted that the potential financing of the deal consisted of two parts: $900 million from EXIM Bank and $700 million from DFC. In 2025, both organizations issued letters of interest to the project. However, such documents only confirm preliminary interest in the deal and do not obligate creditors to allocate money.
A DFC representative also told Bloomberg that the corporation is currently not considering the deal. The Cove Kaz Capital project is at the first of four stages of assessment. The EXIM Bank letter expired in August, and the company requested its extension. The bank itself declined to comment.
Cove Kaz Capital claims that US officials still support the project. The company's board chairman, Pini Althaus, said that an official financing application is planned to be submitted after the completion of the final feasibility study in 2027. Until then, according to him, the company does not need borrowed funds.
Despite the uncertainty over US financing, Cove Kaz Capital continues to prepare for a stock exchange listing. On November 2, the company announced plans to conduct a listing in the US under the name Kaz Resources. It also reported an obligation by American Ventures, linked to the Trump family, to invest $32 million in the project.
According to the company's calculations, the deal implies a business valuation of $1.97 billion. This is 76% higher than the previous valuation. Kaz Resources expects to begin long-term tungsten supplies to the US from 2031.
As The Wall Street Journal previously reported, the US president's sons — Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump — are to receive an indirect stake in the company of less than 1%. A representative of the brothers said they do not participate in managing the business. The company also denies their involvement in concluding the deal on the Kazakh project.
Kaz Resources' main asset in Kazakhstan is the Severny Katpar deposit in the Karaganda region. Cove Kaz Capital completed the deal to purchase a 70% stake in the company developing the deposit in May 2026. The remaining 30% belongs to Samruk-Kazyna through Tau-Ken Samruk. The deal value was $114.8 million.
Previously, Kaz Resources planned to enter Nasdaq through a merger with Hong Kong-based Skyline Builders. However, the company abandoned this scheme and now intends to conduct a direct share placement in the US in 2027.
According to Kaz Resources' estimate, after reaching full capacity, the enterprise will be able to provide up to 15% of global tungsten production. The company is currently conducting a feasibility study of the deposit and expects to start mining in 2030.