US lenders not actively pursuing Kazakh mine deal backed by Trump's sons, US official says

US government lenders are ​not actively pursuing $1.6 billion in financing for a Kazakh mining ​project once hailed as a key part ‌of ​President Donald Trump's push to secure critical minerals supply chains, a US official and a source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

Neither the US Export-Import Bank nor the US International Development Finance ‌Corp has current plans to fund the tungsten-mining venture, which is still working on a feasibility study, the officials said. They issued letters of interest to mining developer Cove Kaz Capital Group for the project last year. Cove Kaz said it had not submitted an application for government funding, ‌adding that it was still working on engineering studies that won't be completed until 2027.

“All recent interactions with the administration and ‌U.S. government officials continue to demonstrate the strongest support for Cove Kaz and this generational asset, which has received advocacy from both the Biden and Trump administrations," the company said in a statement. "The merits of this project and its necessity to U.S. national economic and defense interests stand on their own." Bloomberg first reported on Monday that ⁠the ​two US agencies would not fund the ⁠project, in which Trump's sons Eric and Don Jr. hold an indirect stake of less than 1%.

The project in Kazakhstan, a former Soviet republic between Russia and ⁠China, was first announced by the Trump administration in November 2025. Initial plans called for mining investment firm Cove Capital to develop a large tungsten deposit ​in Kazakhstan with the state mining firm JSC Tau-Ken Samruk.

DFC issued a letter of interest at the time, exploring up ⁠to $700 million for debt financing and project development funding, with EXIM looking at financing some $900 million. DFC CEO Ben Black, in a statement released by the US ⁠State Department ​in February, said the project reflected "one of DFC's core missions — mobilizing private capital to secure the supply chains that matter most to US economic growth and security."

A DFC official on Tuesday confirmed that the lending would not proceed, noting that letters of interest ⁠were non-binding and "should not be interpreted as a commitment by DFC to provide financing." The project "has not advanced beyond stage one of DFC’s four-part review ⁠and Know Your Customer (KYC) screening, ⁠nor is DFC actively pursuing a transaction with them at this time."

The source familiar with the matter confirmed that EXIM also would not proceed with its plans to fund the Kazakh project.