Deal gives U.S. company access to Kazakh tungsten deposit

A U.S. company now called Kaz Resources secured access to a large tungsten deposit in Kazakhstan after negotiations that concluded last September. The project received preliminary approval for as much as $1.6 billion in federal financing before the final agreement was signed on Nov.

6. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick met Kazakhstan’s president at a New York hotel. President Trump joined the discussion by phone and the parties reached terms giving the company rights to the deposit, which is intended to supply material for missile warheads, fighter jets, and computer chips.

Family investment ties Within weeks of the hotel meeting, investors connected to Dominari Securities took a 20 percent stake in an entity linked to the Kazakhstan project. Dominari Securities is partly owned by Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump. Cantor Fitzgerald, an investment firm controlled by the Lutnick family, assisted one of the lead investors in raising $210 million for a related entity around the same period.

The Commerce Department stated that neither the secretary nor department staff had discussions with Cantor Fitzgerald about rare-earth minerals.

Additional projects and funding Federal records show one or both families hold financial ties to at least 14 companies involved in critical minerals projects that have received or are seeking more than $8.9 billion in federal support. Since President Trump returned to office, the government has approved financing for 60 critical minerals projects totaling $18.6 billion.

Pini Althaus, executive chair of Kaz Resources, said talks about the tungsten project began during the prior administration. He stated he had not met the president’s sons and learned of their involvement only later. A White House spokesperson said administration decisions are guided by the interests of the American people and that securing critical supply chains remains a priority.