Tungsten is becoming a strategic metal increasingly sought after by the world’s major powers. While Russia is working to rebuild its position in the sector, Chinese and U.S. investors are competing for control of Kazakhstan’s tungsten deposits. One project has already become profitable, while another is only getting started with the involvement of Donald Trump’s sons.
Tungsten is indispensable for producing superhard alloys used in drilling equipment, high-speed cutting tools, tank armor, and armor-piercing ammunition. It is also used in electrodes, incandescent filaments, and components of missile stabilization systems. Demand is relatively stable, while global sources of the metal remain limited.
Kazakhstan-based Zhetisu Volframy, a company with Chinese roots, has already demonstrated the commercial potential of the sector. In 2025, the company reported a profit of KZT 11.1 billion, compared with a loss the previous year. Commercial sales began in the second quarter of 2025. The company is developing the Boguty tungsten deposit in Kazakhstan’s Almaty Region and has committed to investing $450 million in the project. Of that amount, $330 million will go toward construction of a mining and processing plant designed to produce 65% tungsten concentrate. Another $20 million is earmarked for expanding processing capacity to 4.5 million tonnes of ore per year.
The U.S. presence emerged in May 2026, when Cove Kaz Capital Group acquired a 70% stake in the Severny Katpar project for $114.8 million. The investment structure has been linked to U.S. President Donald Trump’s sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump. The transaction gives U.S. capital a foothold in Kazakhstan’s strategically important tungsten sector.
Kazakhstan has unexpectedly become a focal point in the global competition for critical mineral resources. Tungsten projects in the Almaty and Karaganda regions are already generating returns for Chinese investors while attracting new U.S. capital. For Russia, this is another warning that competitors are moving quickly and that rebuilding its domestic tungsten industry cannot be postponed.
Source: @nerzhavey
Image: @nerzhavey
