Critical Minerals - The Times Of Central Asia

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Uranium Mining

Uzbekistan Plans to Double Uranium Production by 2030

Uzbekistan plans to double its annual uranium production to 15,000 metric tons by 2030, up from a projected 7,500 this year, as demand for nuclear fuel grows. Tashkent also wants to expand critical mineral processing to produce more finished goods for export. The development plans, published by the president’s office on November 5, cover state-owned uranium producer Navoiyuran and the Uzbekistan Technological Metals Complex. According to the World Nuclear Association, Uzbekistan ranks fifth globally in uranium production. Output reached 7,000 metric tons in 2025, up from 5,200 the previous year. The industry is concentrated around Navoi, an industrial center in central Uzbekistan. Buyers of Uzbek uranium include companies from Japan, Canada, South Korea, and China. Neighboring Kazakhstan remains the world’s largest uranium producer, accounting for approximately 39% of global output in 2024. Uzbekistan’s expansion could further increase Central Asia’s importance to international nuclear fuel markets. The November 5 announcement said global uranium demand had increased by 15–20% in recent years and could grow by another 28% by 2030. It did not identify the source or methodology behind those figures. To meet its production targets, Navoiyuran plans to expand geological exploration and develop new deposits, supported by additional uranium processing units. The government also aims to increase explored uranium reserves to 200,000 metric tons by 2030. Another priority is reducing the industry’s dependence on sulfuric acid, a key chemical used in uranium extraction. Uzbekistan intends to increase the use of alternatives so that they account for 40% of extraction reagents by 2030. Alongside uranium, the country is developing production of materials used in electronics, energy, engineering, and other advanced industries. The complex is already working with tungsten, molybdenum, selenium, tellurium, and rhenium. Plans call for expanding into 11 additional metals and minerals, including nickel, cobalt, graphite, and vanadium. By 2030, the government aims to increase the production value of these 16 materials to more than $2.7 billion. Tungsten processing projects are expected to attract $1.1 billion in investment, with the government aiming to bring the production value of tungsten-related products to nearly $2.2 billion by 2030. The metal is widely used in hard alloys for cutting tools and other industrial equipment. The complex also plans to launch 12 investment projects by the end of 2026 and expand production of high-purity selenium and tellurium. Both elements have applications in modern manufacturing, including electronic components and solar panels. Uzbekistan is also considering the development of deposits containing rare and rare-earth elements to expand its mineral resource base. The announcement did not specify when individual facilities would reach full capacity or provide projected export volumes. Uzbekistan’s uranium deposits have already attracted interest from foreign investors, including companies from China, France, and Japan. In 2025, French nuclear fuel company Orano and Navoiyuran expanded their partnership in the Nurlikum Mining joint venture, with each holding a 45% stake and Japan’s ITOCHU Corporation owning the remaining 10%. The venture plans to develop the South Djengeldi uranium deposit, with average annual production expected to reach about 500 metric...

U.S.-Central Asia Engagement

U.S. Midterms Hand Democrats a Central Asia Agenda They Helped Build

Democrats have won control of Congress in the November 3 midterms, ending President Donald Trump’s Republican majority. But they inherit a Central Asia agenda their party helped build, backed by substantial orders for American manufacturers. Uzbekistan Airways’ new Boeing deliveries are due to begin in 2031, while Kazakhstan’s $4.2 billion Wabtec agreement covers a decade. For American businesses, the region’s importance is already measured in export orders that outlast a congressional majority. American Jobs Behind the Diplomacy Kazakhstan signed its Wabtec agreement in September 2025. The U.S. Commerce Department said the Pennsylvania-based manufacturer would supply 300 heavy-haul locomotive kits over the next decade. It estimated that the deal would support more than 11,000 American jobs. Uzbekistan Airways initially ordered 14 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, with options for eight more. The Commerce Department valued that package at approximately $8.5 billion. The airline subsequently exercised the options, bringing its firm order to 22 aircraft. Those purchases give Astana and Tashkent a direct argument in Washington: engaging with them brings business to American factories. The relationship also gives U.S. manufacturers a reason to support continued engagement, whichever party controls congressional committees. From Biden to Trump The minerals agenda has already survived a change of president. The Biden administration signed a critical minerals cooperation memorandum with Uzbekistan in September 2024, aimed at diversifying global supplies. Under Trump, critical minerals and digital infrastructure remained on the agenda at the October 19 C5+1 meeting in Samarkand. The United States and the five Central Asian republics also backed increased trade through the Trans-Caspian route and closer links between their business communities. Congressional support crosses the same party divide. In October, Democratic Senator Chris Coons and Republican Senator Tim Sheehy introduced legislation to strengthen critical mineral supply chains through mining and processing partnerships with U.S. allies. A bipartisan artificial intelligence (AI) bill, reintroduced in February, similarly aims to strengthen American research and testing capacity. Kazakhstan’s June 2026 agreements with Firebird, a U.S. technology company, cover proposed AI infrastructure and advanced computing capacity. Central Asia offers customers for American technology as well as potential sources of strategic minerals. Both fit priorities Democrats have backed alongside Republicans. The incoming majority has reasons of its own to maintain that engagement. Congress’s Unfinished Business The Democratic majority will take office in January 2027, gaining control of committees and greater influence over legislation and oversight. Central Asian governments will also lose two established advocates. Republican Steve Daines and Democrat Gary Peters, who founded the Senate Central Asia Caucus in 2024, are both retiring that month. Their successors will inherit an unfinished trade agenda. Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan remain subject to the Cold War-era Jackson-Vanik Amendment, despite years of calls to remove its trade restrictions. Republican and Democratic lawmakers introduced repeal legislation in November 2025. While American manufacturers are booking Central Asian business into the 2030s, Congress is still debating whether to lift trade restrictions dating from 1974. At a September 2026 House hearing, lawmakers from both parties heard arguments for removing the restrictions. The discussion...

Tungsten

Developer of Kazakhstan Tungsten Projects Drops Merger and Plans U.S. Listing

Cove Kaz, the U.S. company developing two major tungsten deposits in Kazakhstan, has dropped its planned merger with Skyline Builders. It now plans to list its shares directly on a U.S. stock exchange in the first half of 2027. The change comes alongside a $32 million investment commitment intended to fund work on the projects. Together, the announcements reshape how Cove Kaz plans to finance development and bring its Kazakhstan business to public investors. The companies announced the mutual termination of their merger agreement on November 2. American Ventures has committed to buying four million Cove Kaz shares at $8 each, implying a company valuation of $1.97 billion. The investment still needs to close. “The additional capital will fund engineering and construction-related work to shorten our time to production,” said Cove Kaz Executive Chairman Pini Althaus. Under its new listing plan, Cove Kaz intends to become a Delaware corporation and adopt the name Kaz Resources Inc. It also plans to bring other affiliated Kazakhstan assets into the company, subject to regulatory approval. The company has not named an exchange and plans to file a registration statement with U.S. securities regulators. Skyline would remain an investor under the revised arrangements. In its own announcement, it said its existing investment and outstanding loan would be exchanged for shares in Cove Kaz. Its stake would be approximately 26% after the new funding closes. Skyline said the revised arrangement should allow its shareholders to realize the value of their investment faster than the merger. The underlying mining venture centers on Northern Katpar and Upper Kairakty in Kazakhstan’s Karaganda Region. Cove Kaz acquired 70% of Severniy Katpar LLP, which holds the project licenses, in April. Kazakhstan’s national mining company, Tau-Ken Samruk, retains the remaining 30%. [caption id="attachment_59844" align="aligncenter" width="1774"] The Northern Katpar tungsten project site in Kazakhstan’s Karaganda Region. Image: Cove Kaz Capital Group.[/caption] The original merger agreement was intended to create a listed supplier of tungsten and other critical minerals for U.S. customers. Tungsten is used in industrial tools, aerospace and defense equipment, making alternative supplies important to Washington’s efforts to reduce dependence on China. Chinese companies already have a foothold in Kazakhstan’s tungsten sector. A $300 million processing plant opened in Almaty Region in November 2024, with Jiangxi Copper among its participants. Cove Kaz’s planned mine and refinery would establish another supply route, focused on U.S. customers. Work at Northern Katpar has moved into engineering and feasibility studies. Cove Kaz’s August update said the definitive feasibility study began in July and was expected to finish before the end of 2027. It covers the mine and a planned refinery in Kazakhstan that would produce ammonium paratungstate, a material used in tungsten manufacturing. The study will help establish the costs and design needed for a final investment decision. It will also support assessments by potential lenders, including U.S. government agencies. Cove Kaz has cited earlier studies indicating potential combined annual production of about 12,000 metric tons from the two deposits, equivalent to roughly 15% of...

Critical Minerals

Kazakhstan’s Carbon Black: Finding Value in Mining By-Products

London-listed Ferro-Alloy Resources (FAR) is developing a large vanadium deposit in Kazakhstan, as The Times of Central Asia reported in July, and operates a smaller concentrate-processing plant that recovers vanadium, molybdenum and nickel from purchased concentrates. The project could supply growing markets for vanadium and other critical materials. Beyond its core business, FAR has found additional value in by-products already present in the ore. These include its proprietary Carbon Black Substitute (CBS), a rubber-reinforcing filler that the company says is commercially viable, as well as uranium and rare earth minerals, which are not yet in the project economics and could add to future earnings if they prove profitable. Nicholas Bridgen, FAR’s CEO until October 26 and now its non-executive deputy chairman, told TCA: “Our ore gives us multiple sources of revenue. The vanadium pays for the mine and much else, while the carbon and silica left behind, not to mention rare earth metals, become products in their own right.” At an 8% post-tax discount rate, FAR’s Phase 1 delivers a $748 million net present value (NPV) and a 22% internal rate of return (IRR), the company reports, rising to US$931.6 million and 31% on lower capex (November 2025). These figures already include the original CBS, made from vanadium-plant tailings; FAR’s New CBS, made from waste rock, is excluded and would be additional. Rubber manufacturers represent 93% of carbon black demand, making them a potential market for CBS. FAR estimates that the product could sell for about 60–74% less than the conventional carbon black prices cited below and have approximately 90% lower production emissions. Carbon black Carbon black is a reinforcing filler found in most rubber goods, including tires, hoses, conveyor belts, and shoe soles. Its primary particles, only tens of nanometers wide, fuse into aggregates with very high surface area, and rubber chains attach to that surface through both physical and chemical bonds. This makes the rubber stronger, harder, and more resistant to wear. Amorphous silica performs a comparable role, with its surface silanol groups linked to the rubber by silane coupling agents, and it is frequently used alongside carbon black. Unlike graphite, a naturally occurring, highly ordered crystalline carbon prized for conductivity, lubrication and batteries, carbon black is an engineered, near-spherical amorphous carbon made in a furnace for rubber reinforcement. The global carbon black market stood at 15.15 million tonnes in 2025 and is forecast to reach 21.83 million tonnes by 2034, expanding at a CAGR of 4.14%. Rising demand for tires and automotive products is driving much of the growth. Why it is costly Barry Angeline, chemical engineer and polymer physicist, explains that “more than 95% of carbon black is manufactured through the oil-furnace process, which heats and decomposes hydrocarbon feedstocks at high temperatures. The resulting microscopic carbon particles,” he continued, “are quenched, separated from exhaust gases, then processed into pellets for use primarily as a reinforcing agent in rubber. Roughly 1.5 tonnes of fossil feedstock is consumed per tonne of carbon black, and 2.5 tonnes or more of...

Transshipment

Opinion: A Deeper Understanding of Transshipment

The White House recently issued a report on the transshipment of goods. It focuses on allegations that some countries with lower tariffs seek to evade U.S. tariffs on China by exporting goods that are really produced in China and only slightly modified, if at all, before further export to the U.S. The report groups more than 40 countries in what it terms a “shadow transshipment network” into three different categories based on how much it estimates the risk of transshipment and the integration of the economy into supply chains involving China. The first tier, mostly advanced countries, are larger economies where transshipment can show up in otherwise “broadly legitimate” trade. The second tier are a few larger developing countries, which have close links with the Chinese economy. The third tier the report terms “small, opportunistic Chinese targets” with “specific weak-link advantages” that increase transshipment risk. To be clear, transshipment is a risk in some economies. There is also legitimate transshipment (for instance, through normal supply chains and logistics channels) and illegal transshipment (where an exporter files a false certification as to the origin, character, or value of goods). False certifications are punishable by civil and criminal penalties in the U.S. and in most other countries. The World Customs Organization also has international standards on transshipment. So there are reasons to be vigilant about the risk of illegal transshipment. But to see why the report also misses the mark, consider the example of a country increasingly important to the U.S. with a fast-growing economy. To top it off, the country borders China. It’s Kazakhstan. First, the report is wrong to call Kazakhstan “small.” It’s 49th in the world by GDP – quite an accomplishment for a country which was formerly part of the Soviet Union. Second, to term Kazakhstan an “opportunistic Chinese target” is simply not accurate. There is strong trade and investment between China and Kazakhstan, as one would expect from large neighboring countries. And Kazakhstan, particularly at its Khorgos border cooperation center, plays a vital role in the rapidly growing Middle Corridor of trade between China and Europe. But this is legitimate transshipment of goods, and it is deeply unfair to suggest that Kazakhstan may not be fulfilling its duties. Let’s also not forget why the Middle Corridor is growing: because the West sought another route for Chinese goods after the Russian invasion of Ukraine made shipment through Russia impractical or subject to sanctions. Kazakhstan is a regional and even global leader in digitalization of both tax and Customs systems. The “smart border” policy is a success in facilitating legal trade while maintaining vigilance and security: in the first half of 2026, about 60% of declarations of goods were automatic, and 80% of transit declarations were completed without the need for Customs control forms. Deepening digital exchange protocols with regional partners including China, Uzbekistan, and Azerbaijan will speed legal trade even further. Digitalization builds honest systems, free from corruption – and by definition lowering the risk of transshipment. Kazakhstan...

C5+1

Uzbekistan Announces $12 Billion in Agreements During Marco Rubio’s Visit

Uzbekistan has announced 54 agreements covering trade, investment, and technological cooperation during U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s visit to Samarkand. The agreements are worth a total of $12 billion, according to Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Investment, Industry and Trade. The agreements were announced at the second meeting of the Uzbekistan–U.S. Business and Investment Council on October 19. Rubio also met President Shavkat Mirziyoyev that day. The ministry said the agreements cover transport and energy infrastructure, critical minerals, finance, digital technologies, agriculture, healthcare, and education. Rubio’s visit coincided with a C5+1 ministerial meeting, bringing together the United States and the five Central Asian countries. The Uzbek ministry stated that more than 400 business representatives participated in the program, including over 100 from the United States, 100 from other Central Asian countries, and 200 from Uzbekistan. It did not specify how much of the announced $12 billion has secured financing and how much remains at the planning stage. Several international companies were named in the agreements announced during the visit. According to the announced arrangements, cooperation with Wabtec is focused on localizing the production of railway equipment and components. Agreements involving ReElement Technologies, Traxys, and Trafigura cover mineral exploration, development, technological cooperation, and supplies. Other announced projects involve satellite communications with Amazon Leo, medical technologies with GE HealthCare, and agricultural efficiency with Valmont Industries. Speaking to reporters in Samarkand on October 19, Rubio said the visit was expected to produce concrete commercial results. “I think we’ll have some concrete deals to announce, meaning companies that are going to be doing business here that are being welcomed here and that are excited about doing business here,” Rubio said. He emphasized that the agreements should be viewed as the beginning of a broader economic relationship. “I also think that’s just the foundation that we intend to build on. We want to do more. This is not the end. This is the beginning,” he said. In their joint statement, the C5+1 governments supported expanding mineral processing and higher-value production within Central Asia. They also backed further development of the Trans-Caspian Trade Route and closer regional economic integration. The visit also marked the launch of the Enhanced Strategic Partnership Dialogue and Uzbekistan’s signing of the Artemis Accords on peaceful space exploration. From Investment Announcements to Projects In an interview with The Times of Central Asia (TCA), political analyst Abduvali Soyibnazarov described Rubio’s visit and the C5+1 meeting as a potentially important stage in Washington’s relations with Central Asia. Recalling the first C5+1 ministerial meeting, attended by then-U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in Samarkand in November 2015, Soyibnazarov said the agenda has changed considerably over the past decade, with investment, critical minerals, advanced technologies, and new trade routes moving to the forefront. The analyst argued that Uzbekistan’s main measure of success should not be the number of memorandums signed, but how many projects ultimately secure financing and move forward. Uzbekistan’s investment minister, Laziz Kudratov, put the country’s portfolio of commercial agreements with the United States at...