"Financial Times": Trump's sons enter Kazakhstan mining race to break China's dominance

"Financial Times": Trump's sons acquire a stake in a strategic mining project in Kazakhstan

US President Donald Trump's sons are participating in a tungsten mining project in Kazakhstan, which is expected to help Washington reduce its reliance on China for metals used in defense industries.

The "Financial Times" reported this, quoting informed sources that Donald Trump Jr. (Junior) and Eric Trump invested in the "Skyline Builders" group last August through an intermediary company affiliated with "Dominari Securities", before strengthening their investment position in October by injecting additional funds as part of a private offering that raised 24 million dollars.

The newspaper reported that, in a separate context, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev informed his American counterpart Donald Trump on 22 September 2025 that he intends to grant a huge tungsten project to the American investment group "Kov Kaz Capital", according to a source familiar with the discussion. "Kov Kaz", backed by the US government, was competing with Chinese and Russian companies, according to the newspaper.

On 31 October, documents showed that "Skyline" agreed to pay 20 million dollars for a 20% stake in a company that owns "important vital mineral assets in Asia", and that company was "Kaz Resources", affiliated with the "Kov Kaz Capital" group, based in New York, which also controls "Kov Kaz".

It is worth noting that last year, the US Export-Import Bank and the Development Finance Corporation, two federally funded agencies, pledged up to 1.6 billion dollars to support the development of the "North Katpar" and "Upper Kairakty" tungsten mining projects in central Kazakhstan, and "Kov Kaz" currently controls 70% of both projects.

On 6 November, "Kov Kaz Capital" and Kazakhstan's National Mining Company announced an agreement to develop "the world's largest known untapped tungsten resource".

Yesterday, Thursday, "Kov Kaz Capital" and "Kaz Resources" agreed to merge with "Skyline". The new company plans to trade on the "Nasdaq" exchange under the name "Kaz Resources". There was no mention of the Trump brothers in the press release announcing the merger.

A spokesperson for Donald Trump Jr. said that the President's son is an "indirect investor in American Ventures, and has no operational role in it. He also does not communicate with the federal government on behalf of any company in which he invests or advises".

The Trump administration seeks to build new supply chains for critical minerals, including rare earth elements, with the aim of reducing China's control over global supplies. This metal is used in drilling tools, armor-piercing projectiles, and so-called kinetic energy penetrators.

Quentin Lamarche, CEO of the metals trading company "Tech Met SCM", said that Kazakh tungsten deposits "are rich in reserves but are still in their early stages". He added: "Operating the mines will take a lot of time, effort, and money".

"Financial Times": Trump's sons acquire a stake in a strategic mining project in Kazakhstan

US President Donald Trump's sons are participating in a tungsten mining project in Kazakhstan, which is expected to help Washington reduce its reliance on China for metals used in defense industries.

The "Financial Times" reported this, quoting informed sources that Donald Trump Jr. (Junior) and Eric Trump invested in the "Skyline Builders" group last August through an intermediary company affiliated with "Dominari Securities", before strengthening their investment position in October by injecting additional funds as part of a private offering that raised 24 million dollars.

The newspaper reported that, in a separate context, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev informed his American counterpart Donald Trump on 22 September 2025 that he intends to grant a huge tungsten project to the American investment group "Kov Kaz Capital", according to a source familiar with the discussion. "Kov Kaz", backed by the US government, was competing with Chinese and Russian companies, according to the newspaper.

On 31 October, documents showed that "Skyline" agreed to pay 20 million dollars for a 20% stake in a company that owns "important vital mineral assets in Asia", and that company was "Kaz Resources", affiliated with the "Kov Kaz Capital" group, based in New York, which also controls "Kov Kaz".

It is worth noting that last year, the US Export-Import Bank and the Development Finance Corporation, two federally funded agencies, pledged up to 1.6 billion dollars to support the development of the "North Katpar" and "Upper Kairakty" tungsten mining projects in central Kazakhstan, and "Kov Kaz" currently controls 70% of both projects.

On 6 November, "Kov Kaz Capital" and Kazakhstan's National Mining Company announced an agreement to develop "the world's largest known untapped tungsten resource".

Yesterday, Thursday, "Kov Kaz Capital" and "Kaz Resources" agreed to merge with "Skyline". The new company plans to trade on the "Nasdaq" exchange under the name "Kaz Resources". There was no mention of the Trump brothers in the press release announcing the merger.

A spokesperson for Donald Trump Jr. said that the President's son is an "indirect investor in American Ventures, and has no operational role in it. He also does not communicate with the federal government on behalf of any company in which he invests or advises".

The Trump administration seeks to build new supply chains for critical minerals, including rare earth elements, with the aim of reducing China's control over global supplies. This metal is used in drilling tools, armor-piercing projectiles, and so-called kinetic energy penetrators.

Quentin Lamarche, CEO of the metals trading company "Tech Met SCM", said that Kazakh tungsten deposits "are rich in reserves but are still in their early stages". He added: "Operating the mines will take a lot of time, effort, and money".

Source: "Financial Times"

Source: "Financial Times"