Key Takeaways
The Trump Administration is pursuing domestic and overseas sources of tungsten and other minerals critical to defense, aerospace, industry, and other uses.
China controls more than 80% of global tungsten production and processing, and it has restricted exports, so the administration is looking to Kazakhstan, a mineral-rich country south of Russia, as well as examining prospective U.S. mines.
No tungsten has been mined in the United States since 2015, although consumption has continued to increase due to its importance in many defense applications and in chip manufacturing.
The Trump administration is looking at mining potential in Nevada as part of the Defense Industrial Base Consortium, and in Kazakhstan through a joint venture with Cove Capital LLC and the National Mining Company of Kazakhstan.
U.S. policy will bar federal procurement of tungsten from China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea beginning January 1, 2027.
As part of its program to diversify sourcing of strategic and critical minerals, the Trump Administration plans to help a U.S. company develop one of the world’s largest untapped tungsten deposits in Kazakhstan, a country bordered by Russia to the north and China to the east. China currently controls more than 80% of global tungsten production and processing and has restricted exports, prompting the United States to seek other sources. Demand for tungsten is expected to rise over the next decade, due to applications in defense, aerospace, semiconductors, industrial carbide, and advanced chip manufacturing. A policy deadline and a federal procurement rule that take effect on January 1, 2027, will bar tungsten sourced from China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea from a range of U.S. defense applications, forcing contractors to secure alternative supply chains. Kazakhstan is the world’s top producer of uranium and also contains significant deposits of rare earth elements.
Cove Capital LLC has formed a joint venture with the National Mining Company of Kazakhstan, backed by the federal government. The U.S. Export-Import Bank issued a letter of interest for up to $900 million in financing for the project, and the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation issued a letter of interest for up to $700 million in debt financing and project development funding. According to Cove Capital, the deal focuses on two key deposits of tungsten and molybdenum ore — known as the Northern Katpar and Upper Kairakty — located less than 20 miles apart in the Karaganda mining district in Central Kazakhstan, less than 100 miles south of the city of Karaganda. The first mine is expected to produce about 5,000 tons of tungsten annually, and the second will produce 7,000 tons annually. The U.S. firm will have a 70% stake, and the Kazakhs will have a 30% stake. Production is expected to begin in approximately five years, after a feasibility study that will take about two years.
China controls about 80% of the global tungsten mine supply and dominates the downstream chain that converts ore into ammonium paratungstate (APT) powder and carbide in Rotterdam. China tightened tungsten export licensing beginning in 2023 and intensified it through 2025. Exports of key processed tungsten products fell sharply, and in December 2025, China confirmed that only 15 companies would be authorized to export tungsten in 2026–27, thereby providing the state with direct control over volume, timing, and destination. China’s own mined output is estimated to have fallen around 10% year-over-year in 2025 due to aging mines and declining ore grades. Thus, tungsten supply is almost entirely under the control of a country that can and will withhold access, as it has with rare earths, gallium, and antimony, and is increasingly constrained by resource quality.
The Trump administration wants to shore up critical mineral supplies at home and abroad to counter China’s market control. The United States has not produced tungsten from a domestic mine since 2015. The Department of Defense provided nearly $6.2 million for Guardian Metals to complete a pre-feasibility study for Pilot Mountain, a tungsten deposit near Hawthorne, Nevada, and met with Patriot Critical Minerals, which wants to develop deposits in Elko County, Nevada. Patriot Critical Minerals joined the U.S. Defense Industrial Base Consortium, a DOD-funded initiative that enables research and provides access to commercial solutions for defense requirements and innovations from industry, academia, and non-traditional contractors through simplified contracting arrangements and non-dilutive financing. Tungsten is a dense, heat-resistant metal used in armor-piercing munitions, tank armor, missile components, and many other defense systems, as well as a myriad of industrial applications.
Recently, energy company Western Star, also a member of the Defense Industrial Base Consortium, deployed field crews to a tungsten site in Elko County, Nevada, part of a historic mining district that once supplied the metal for industrial and military use. Company crews launched the first modern exploration program across the property and surrounding areas of the former Mission Cross Mine. Work includes a drone-based magnetic survey and soil sampling to identify subsurface structures and mineralized zones ahead of potential drilling.
Conclusion
The Trump administration is seeking both domestic and overseas sources of tungsten, as the United States currently imports all its supply and has not produced tungsten domestically since 2015, when China began producing and selling it at lower cost. China controls more than 80% of global tungsten production and processing and has restricted exports, prompting the United States to seek other sources. While work has begun to explore production opportunities in Nevada as part of the Defense Industrial Base Consortium, the Trump administration has backed a joint venture with Cove Capital LLC and the National Mining Company of Kazakhstan to develop mines in Kazakhstan. If the feasibility study proves fruitful, production will start there in about five years. Tungsten is a dense, heat-resistant metal used in armor-piercing munitions, tank armor, and missile components, and many other defense and non-defense systems, including advanced chip manufacturing.
