Central Asia’s tungsten test: Can Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan redraw US-China critical minerals map?

Fastmarkets01-21

Key takeaways: Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are emerging as key players in tungsten supply, challenging China’s dominance amid rising prices and export controls The US and China are heavily investing in...

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}\n.meta {color:#5e5c6d;font-size:13px;margin:0 0 .5em; }\na{text-decoration:none; color:#2a4b87;}\n.meta .head { display: inline-block; overflow: hidden}\n.head .h-thumb { width: 30px; height: 30px; margin: 0; padding: 0; border-radius: 50%; float: left;}\n.head .h-content { margin: 0; padding: 0 0 0 9px; float: left;}\n.head .h-name {font-size: 13px; color: #eee; margin: 0;}\n.head .h-time {font-size: 11px; color: #7E829C; margin: 0;line-height: 11px;}\n.small {font-size: 12.5px; display: inline-block; transform: scale(0.9); -webkit-transform: scale(0.9); transform-origin: left; -webkit-transform-origin: left;}\n.smaller {font-size: 12.5px; display: inline-block; transform: scale(0.8); -webkit-transform: scale(0.8); transform-origin: left; -webkit-transform-origin: left;}\n.bt-text {font-size: 12px;margin: 1.5em 0 0 0}\n.bt-text p {margin: 0}\n</style>\n</head>\n<body>\n<div class=\"wrapper\">\n<header>\n<h2 class=\"title\">\nCentral Asia’s tungsten test: Can Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan redraw US-China critical minerals map?\n</h2>\n\n<h4 class=\"meta\">\n\n\n2026-01-21 13:00 GMT+8&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href=https://www.fastmarkets.com/insights/central-asias-tungsten-kazakhstan-uzbekistan-us-china-critical-minerals/><strong>Fastmarkets</strong></a>\n\n\n</h4>\n\n</header>\n<article>\n<div>\n<p>Key takeaways:\n\nKazakhstan and Uzbekistan are emerging as key players in tungsten supply, challenging China’s dominance amid rising prices and export controls\nThe US and China are heavily investing in...</p>\n\n<a href=\"https://www.fastmarkets.com/insights/central-asias-tungsten-kazakhstan-uzbekistan-us-china-critical-minerals/\">Source Link</a>\n\n</div>\n\n\n</article>\n</div>\n</body>\n</html>\n","isBrief":false,"type":0,"news_type":1,"symbol":"BK4568","symbol_name":"美国抗疫概念","start_time":0,"source_url":"https://www.fastmarkets.com/insights/central-asias-tungsten-kazakhstan-uzbekistan-us-china-critical-minerals/","article_id":"2605002051","we_media_id":null,"thumbnails":[],"rights":{"source":"fastmarkets_highlight","url":"https://www.fastmarkets.com/insights/central-asias-tungsten-kazakhstan-uzbekistan-us-china-critical-minerals/","rn_cache_url":null,"directOrigin":true},"url":"https://stock-news.laohu8.com/highlight/detail?id=2605002051","pubTimestamp":1768971600,"columns":[],"sourceInfo":{"source_id":"fastmarkets_highlight","name":"Fastmarkets"},"weMediaInfo":null,"summary":"Explore Kazakhstan’s critical minerals role in the global tungsten market amid changing supply chains and rising prices.","collect":0,"end_time":0,"defaultTopTitle":"fastmarkets.com","property":[],"viewcount":null,"language":"en","relate_stocks":{"BK4568":"美国抗疫概念","APT":"Alpha Pro Tech Ltd","BK4086":"建筑产品"},"translate_title":"中亚的钨试验：哈萨克斯坦、乌兹别克斯坦能重绘美中关键矿产地图吗？","themeId":null,"isJumpTheme":false,"ttsUrl":null,"symbols_score_info":{"APT":1},"content_text":"Key takeaways:\n\nKazakhstan and Uzbekistan are emerging as key players in tungsten supply, challenging China’s dominance amid rising prices and export controls\nThe US and China are heavily investing in Central Asia’s tungsten projects, with strategic partnerships and government-backed initiatives\nTungsten’s critical role in defense, aerospace, and chipmaking has heightened its geopolitical importance, with NATO and the US prioritizing it\nCentral Asia’s abundant mineral reserves and supportive policies position the region to reshape global tungsten supply chains\n\nKazakhstan and Uzbekistan are emerging as focal points in a global scramble for tungsten, as governments and miners seek alternatives to Chinese supply following tighter export controls and rising prices, market sources told Fastmarkets. \nUS-backed and Chinese-backed projects are advancing in parallel across Central Asia. Capital from Turkey picked up mines left by Korea in Uzbekistan, turning a once peripheral region into a testing ground for how quickly non-Chinese production can be brought to market.\nIn Kazakhstan, a joint venture supported by the US government announced in November aims to develop two large, undeveloped tungsten deposits with financial support from Washington, while a Chinese-backed producer has already brought the Bakuta open-pit mine into commercial production near the Chinese border. Uzbekistan, starting from a smaller base, is fast-tracking a district-scale project and promoting local processing capacity as it seeks to enter the global supply chain.\nWhy tungsten, why now and why central Asia?\nTungsten is back at the center of minerals geopolitics for a simple reason: it’s exceptionally hard to replace in cutting tools, aerospace alloys, and defense systems as well as, increasingly, in chipmaking processes. NATO codified that reality in December 2024 by naming tungsten one of just 12 “defense-critical raw materials,” a list meant to guide allied stockpiles and industrial planning. In August 2025, the US government released its draft list of Critical Minerals for the year. On this list, tungsten was also classified as one of the “highest risk” minerals.\nAt the same time, the supply base remains heavily concentrated. The US has not mined tungsten since 2015 and relies on imports and recycling, while China accounted for over 80% of global mine output in 2024, according to the US Geological Survey’s latest Mineral Commodity Summaries.\nAmmonium paratungstate (APT) prices have climbed sharply over the past year. Fastmarkets’ assessment of the tungsten APT 88.5% WO3 min, fob main ports China, was $1,138-1,200 per metric tonne unit on Wednesday January 14. Since the beginning of 2025, the export APT price in China has gone up by over 200% from $335-345 per mtu on January 8 2025.\nThe price rally has coincided with Beijing’s decision to place tungsten under a dual-use export licensing regime and with renewed stockpiling by Western defense and industrial buyers.\nCentral Asia holds substantial reserves of critical minerals, including uranium, copper, tungsten, rare earths etc. According to data from the World Nuclear Association, Kazakhstan produces three-quarters of the world’s uranium. \nAround 18% of foreign direct investments (FDI) went to Kazakhstan’s mining and quarrying sector, according to a report from the National Bank of Kazakhstan. Data from USGS shows that, if developed, Uzbekistan could become the third-leading tungsten producer in the world, increasing global tungsten supply by 2.7 percent. \nTajikistan ranks second globally in antimony production, accounting for 15% of the world’s supply, reflecting Central Asia’s abundant reserves of mining resources and its substantial reliance in the mining industry.\n\nThe recent American play in Kazakhstan\nAt the C5+1 summit – a diplomatic forum representing the US government’s approach to engaging all five Central Asian nations (Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan) – held in November 2025, New York-based Cove Capital announced a joint venture with Kazakhstan’s state mining company. \nThe partnership will develop the Northern Katpar and Upper Kairakty deposits, which are described as among the world’s largest undeveloped tungsten resources and are expected to account for 15% of global tungsten production annually, according to Pini Althaus, the founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Cove Capital.\n“And, in fact, this deal was signed in the Oval Office. So, it’s not just signed on a Company level but also on a government-to-government level on November 6 during the C5+1 submit,” Althaus told Fastmarkets and pointed out that “It’s the only project that President Trump and (the Commerce) Secretary Howard Lutnick have been involved with directly in the negotiations and discussions with (the Kazakhstan) President Tokayev.”\nThe US Export-Import Bank issued a letter of interest for up to $900 million of an estimated $1.1 billion capital expenditure, with the US International Development Finance Corporation also indicating support. \nAlthaus said the US government is heavily involved in financing and will be a key offtaker of the tungsten produced. Given the project’s importance, the US government has granted it official trade advocacy status, enabling close cooperation throughout the acquisition.\n“The US and this administration in particular have understood that Kazakhstan and the other Central Asian countries are absolutely important in terms of obtaining various critical minerals,” Althaus said. The company aims to complete a bankable feasibility study within 12-18 months and to begin production in 2029, pending approvals and market conditions.\nOne year earlier, in 2024, the US launched the C5+1 Critical Minerals Dialogue to increase the region’s involvement in global critical minerals supply chains and strengthen economic cooperation in the mining sector. \nIn the same year, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan joined the US Minerals Security Partnership Forum, a program launched by the US government aiming to cooperate with other countries in securing the global critical mineral supply chain and reducing the reliance on China.\n\nChina Inc. is already there\nWhile Washington is catching up, Chinese capital is already dug in. Jiaxin International Resources Investment, majority-backed by Jiangxi Copper, listed shares in Hong Kong and Astana in August 2025 with the Bakuta tungsten project as its core asset. The open pit mine entered commercial production in 2025 and targets tungsten ore output of about 3.3 million tonnes in 2025, according to the company’s prospectus.\nIn an interview, Jiaxin’s executive director Hugo Qiu said it took them 11 years to progress from investment to production operations. About 400 workers are on site, roughly a quarter from China, he said, with Jiangxi Copper overseeing production, technology management and sales.\nQiu highlighted the project’s proximity to China – approximately a two-hour drive from the Khorgos border crossing – as well as Kazakhstan’s policy stability as key advantages. He noted that this short distance makes transporting tungsten to China highly convenient.\nAdditionally, he noted that investors had responded positively to the Belt and Road Initiative as early as eleven years ago, demonstrating confidence in the friendly business environment between Kazakhstan and China. \nThis long-standing confidence is reflected in sustained investment: data from the National Bank of Kazakhstan also shows China accounts for the largest amounts of foreign direct investments (FDI) in Kazakhstan, with investments of $2.6 billion in 2025, counting around 18% of overall FDIs in Kazakhstan. the AEI China Global Investment Tracker shows that China has invested approximately $1.2 billion, directed specifically toward its metals sector.\n\nUzbekistan’s fast lane\nNext door, Uzbekistan is trying to compress the clock. A Turkish-owned project in the Navoiy region, K‑Tungsten, has kicked off with strong momentum. \nAccording to its deputy general director Temur Zokirov, the team has drilled over 60,000 meters since mid‑2025 and built a camp for around 400 staff. The total output of tungsten trioxide (WO3) would be 106,696 tonnes. They have also engaged with SRK Consulting to prepare a technical report on the resource estimation and the previous preferability study, aiming for first production in the first quarter of 2028. \nHe also noted that the current policy stance of Uzbekistan toward strategic minerals such as tungsten is highly supportive and pro-investment. At the state level, strategic and critical minerals have been formally prioritized, leading to the launch of dozens of mining and processing projects.\nAccording to Uzbekistan’s government documents, the country has revised subsoil legislation, prioritized strategic minerals and established a Technological Metals Complex to promote local processing. \nAs data from Invest Uzbekistan shows, the country’s total output from the mining sector reached $5.3 billion, accounting for 12.2% of Uzbekistan’s industrial added value in 2024. \nUzbekistan’s global tungsten reserves share is projected to rise from 2% to 5.1% by 2030, while its share of global tungsten extraction will jump from 0.005% to 14.8%, according to MINEX Central Asia, an international mining forum that brings together governments, mining companies and investors to discuss mining policy, investment and critical minerals in Central Asia.\nIs Central Asia the new battleground?\nWhen asked if Central Aisa is emerging as the new battleground against the backdrop of US and China competition over critical minerals, Pini Althaus of Cove Capital notes that the US cannot compete with China on critical minerals, given China’s dominant role in both supply chains and processing, which account for 80-90% of global capacity. \nHe believes the US should instead focus on securing the minerals it needs through available channels. Althaus observes that the US, particularly the current administration, recognizes the vital importance of Central Asian nations. This shift in perspective, he suggests, reflects a reset in US relations with Central Asian countries, especially Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.\nJiaxin’s Qiu pointed out that Kazakhstan has relatively stable politics and good relations with China, the US, and Russia. The local resource endowment is also very good, and the government has been attracting investment, which he believes constitutes a good foundation. \n“From a political perspective, Kazakhstan can seize the opportunity to navigate between several major powers, maximize its own interests amidst these powers, and flexibly utilize them without offending anyone,” Qiu added.\nUzbekistan’s Zokirov is pragmatic: “We are a private company, open to all interested parties – whether from China, the US, Europe, or elsewhere. We welcome investments and offtake agreements for tungsten supply and will generally prioritize partners based on the principle of first come, first served,” he said of offtake priorities, while backing the state’s move to treat tungsten as strategic and to build local processing.\nThe risks – and the upside\nTalking about risks, a Chinese tungsten producer source pointed out that project timelines remain vulnerable to delays from harsh winters, power constraints, and reagent shortages, while capital expenditures may also escalate. \nCove Capital identifies scheduling as its foremost risk, and K-Tungsten faces the challenge of transforming an intensive drilling program into a finance-ready flow sheet and funding structure within two years. Even Chinese-backed projects, though relatively advanced, must still navigate ESG standards and cross-border political dynamics.\nNevertheless, the potential is evident, as a Chinese tungsten trader source pointed out. \nShould Kazakhstan capture a significant share of non-Chinese tungsten supply and Uzbekistan succeed in scaling both mining and processing, Central Asia could realistically supply a significant portion of the world’s tungsten within a decade, just as Western buyers grow willing to pay a premium for resilient supply chains. \n“This would not replace China’s dominance, but it would redraw the global tungsten map,” the trader added.","kind":"highlight","is_publish_news":true,"is_publish_highlight":false,"is_publish_live":false,"is_publish_wemedia":null,"editions":null,"column":"","sentiment":"0","news_tag":"","news_rank":0,"symbols":[],"gpt_button":0,"need_auth":false,"code":"91000000","status":"200"},"commentList":[],"isCommentEnd":true,"newsSizeData":{"likeSize":0,"commentSize":0,"repostSize":0,"favoriteSize":0,"likeStatus":false,"favoriteStatus":false},"APP":{"userAgent":"Mozilla/5.0 AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko; compatible; ClaudeBot/1.0; +claudebot@anthropic.com)","isDev":false,"isTTM":true,"tenantId":"TBGLOBAL","deviceId":"web-server-community-laohu8-v3","version":"4.36.2","shortVersion":"4.36.2","platform":"web","vendor":"web","appName":"ttm","isIOS":false,"isAndroid":false,"isTiger":false,"isTHS":false,"isWeiXin":false,"isWeiXinMini":false,"isWeiBo":false,"isQQ":false,"isBaiduSwan":false,"isBaiduBox":false,"isDingTalk":false,"isToutiao":false,"isOnePlus":false,"isHuaWei":false,"isXiaomi":false,"isXiaomiWebView":false,"isOppo":false,"isVivo":false,"isSamsung":false,"isMobile":false},"href":"/m/news/2605002051","isCrawlerRequest":true}