Astana, 12 November. Cove Kaz Capital, which owns 70% of the tungsten project at the Northern Katpar and Upper Kairakty deposits, told Forbes Kazakhstan that it has not applied to the US EXIM Bank and DFC for construction financing (Forbes.kz).
The company does not regard the lack of active consideration on their side as a refusal.
The trigger was reports that US lenders will not approve US$1.6 billion: EXIM could provide up to US$900 million and DFC up to US$700 million. On 9 November Bloomberg reported that, according to people familiar with the matter, neither agency plans to approve the financing, citing doubts about the project’s viability and geopolitical risks. As RTVI summarises it, Reuters added on 10 November that a DFC representative confirmed the corporation does not intend to continue work and that the project failed the first of four stages of the Know Your Customer check; the letter of interest was not binding.
Cove Kaz explained that the projects are at the stage of the definitive feasibility study, which is due to be completed in 2027; formally, project financing will start to be raised after that, once the project’s parameters, capital costs and financing structure are known. The company calls the EXIM and DFC letters preliminary and non-binding: it “never presented them as finally approved credit commitments”. In its view the lack of active consideration is therefore not a refusal: no applications for construction financing were filed, it continues to engage with the US institutions and has received no notice that support has ended.
Financing of the current stage is, the company says, secured. On 2 November it announced a new commitment to invest US$32 million in its capital: 4 million shares at US$8, implying a valuation of about US$1.97 billion. Other options the company names include project debt financing, strategic capital, commercial financing and offtake agreements, and it plans a direct listing of shares on a US exchange in the first half of 2027. The remaining 30% of the project belongs to Tau-Ken Samruk.
What it means: The dispute is over the word “refusal”. Bloomberg’s and Reuters’ sources speak of the lenders’ unwillingness to continue, while the company replies that it has not yet asked. These reports contain no written positions from EXIM, DFC or Tau-Ken Samruk.
Background: The joint development of Northern Katpar and Upper Kairakty was announced on 6 November 2025; the cost of developing the deposits was then estimated at US$1.1 billion.
