US Cove Kaz Capital Group Plans to Launch Financing for Tungsten Mine Project in 2027

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On November 11, US mining investment firm Cove Kaz Capital Group stated that it has not yet formally submitted construction financing applications to the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM Bank) and the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) for the North Katpar and Upper Kairakty tungsten mine projects, and plans to initiate formal project financing procedures in 2027 after completing the Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) and clarifying the project's capital expenditure and production parameters. The company said that funds required for current exploration, site preparation, and feasibility study work have already been secured.

Previously, EXIM Bank had studied providing up to US$900 million in financing for the project, while DFC had considered providing up to US$700 million in loans and project development funds, with the combined potential financing scale of the two institutions totaling US$1.6 billion. However, the relevant documents were only preliminary financing letters of intent and do not constitute binding loan commitments. On November 10, Reuters cited US government officials and informed sources as saying that DFC is currently no longer actively advancing the financing transaction, and the project has not yet passed the first stage of its four-stage review, namely customer due diligence.

The two tungsten mines are located in the Karaganda Region of Kazakhstan. Cove Kaz holds a 70% interest in the project company, while Kazakhstan's national mining company Tau-Ken Samruk holds the remaining 30%. The project plans to build mining and ore processing facilities, along with supporting tungsten metallurgical processing production lines, forming a production system covering ore extraction, ore processing, and tungsten product processing. Tau-Ken Samruk previously disclosed that the preliminary investment estimate for the two deposits and related mining and processing infrastructure is approximately US$1.1 billion, and the final investment scale and production capacity still need to be determined through the Definitive Feasibility Study currently being prepared.

At present, the North Katpar project has entered the site preparation stage. Construction preparation work began in July 2026. At this stage, surveying, access roads, and drilling platform preparation are being carried out, along with the construction of necessary on-site supporting facilities. The Definitive Feasibility Study is being advanced in parallel and is expected to be completed by the end of 2027. The study covers mine development plans, ore processing capacity, capital expenditure, operating costs, and project economics, and will serve as an important basis for the final investment decision and subsequent financing.

Cove Kaz stated that it will not rely entirely on US government loans for project development and is also studying options such as project financing debt, strategic investment, commercial loans, and long-term product offtake agreements. On November 2, the company separately disclosed a conditional US$32 million equity investment commitment involving the issuance of 4 million shares at US$8 per share. This funding is part of the company's equity financing arrangements and is not the same financing matter as the previously discussed EXIM and DFC project loans.