Kazakhstan, US sign critical minerals pact

Kazakhstan, the world’s biggest uranium producer, has signed a memorandum of understanding with the United States government in the field of critical minerals.

The document was signed by Yersayin Nagaspayev, Kazakhstan’s minister of industry and construction, and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick at a meeting in Washington earlier, the Press Office of the President of Kazakhstan said Thursday in a post on X.

Also present at the signing was Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, who arrived in the U.S. on Wednesday.

The signing took place after a meeting between Tokayev and representatives of the U.S. administration, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy for South and Central Asian Affairs Sergio Gor, Kazakhstan said.

In a separate statement, Tokayev emphasized the “excellent opportunities” between Kazakhstan and the U.S. to further bolster their strategic partnership through economic cooperation.

Rare earth opportunity

The MOU signing represents another key strategic move by the U.S. to secure prospective supplies of rare earths to chip away at China’s dominance in this sector.

Kazakhstan, while still mostly underexplored to this day, may present an enticing opportunity. Earlier this year, the deputy chairman of its industry and construction ministry said the Central Asian nation has “promising reserves” of rare earth minerals, and if forecasts are confirmed, it could become one of the world’s top 10 producers.

This claim is backed by its discovery of the large Kuyrektykol deposit. If confirmed, the deposit would place Kazakhstan behind only China and Brazil by reserve size.

According to official geologic data, Kazakhstan currently has more than 980 deposits of solid minerals. Since 2018, it has issued 2,906 exploration licenses and 111 production licenses, but only a dozen of the sites are undergoing exploration activity.

Over the past five years, Kazakhstan has become a key hunting ground for miners, attracting about $1 billion in private investment into this sector.

Tungsten ties

U.S. investors have taken notice.

In March, New York-nased private equity firm Cove Capital formed a joint venture with JSC Qazgeology, Kazakhstan’s national geological exploration company, to advance the Akbulak Rare Earth Project in the country’s Kostanay region by conducting geological surveys, feasibility studies and exploration work. Akbulak hosts a historical resource of 380,000 tonnes of rare earth oxides, including neodymium and praseodymium, Cove Capital said.

The Trump administration has been working to bolster ties with the Central Asian nation for some time. In September, the Commerce Department helped Pittsburgh-based manufacturer Wabtec land a $4.2 billion locomotive order.

While Kazakhstan isn’t ranked by the U.S. Geological Survey among the top countries for recoverable deposits of tungsten, it it still estimated to have over 2 million tonnes of the mineral in reserve.

China accounts for about 80% of global production of tungsten concentrate, U.S. Geological Survey data shows.