Trump sons linked to Kazakhstan tungsten project, Nasdaq plan

Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump invested through a shell company in Skyline Builders, filings show. Skyline agreed on Oct. 31 to invest $20 million for a 20% stake in Kaz Resources, a Cove Capital subsidiary tied to a $1.6 billion tungsten project in Kazakhstan.

Cove Capital controls Cove Kaz, the group connected to the Kazakhstan operation. Kaz Resources will operate two deposits in Central Kazakhstan, Northern Katpar and Upper Kairakty, located less than 20 miles apart in the Karaganda mining district.

The tungsten joint venture was presented at the November C5+1 Leaders’ Summit in Washington, where former President Donald Trump and Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev announced the agreement.

Since 2023 the Commerce Department and State Department have provided commercial diplomacy support for the company’s critical minerals work in Kazakhstan, government statements indicate.

The family’s financial picture has drawn attention alongside the mining deal. Reports put the Trump family’s net worth at about $6.5 billion, with roughly one-third of that tied to crypto gains and more than $1 billion in pre-tax profit from crypto projects last year. Family-linked investments have gone into artificial intelligence, drones and critical minerals, and some of those companies later received major U.S. government contracts, a point raised by Democratic lawmakers.

The filing and contract history include other examples. A firm connected to the family, 1789 Capital, invested in a rare earths company before the administration reached a $600 million deal with that company. Miner Daniel Althaus, founder of USA Rare Earths, saw his firm obtain more than $1.5 billion in conditional U.S. government support last year; Althaus left that company in 2023 but remains a shareholder. The administration has also approved more than $8.6 billion in foreign military sales to countries including Israel, Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.

Tungsten is used in drilling tools, armor-piercing ammunition and kinetic-energy munitions. Market data show tungsten prices rose beginning in early 2025, increasing the commercial value of deposits such as those in Karaganda.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Donald Trump Jr. described him as ‘a passive investor in American Ventures and has no operational involvement in the company,’ adding that ‘he does not interface with the federal government on behalf of any company he invests in or advises.’

Kaz Resources plans a Nasdaq listing under the ticker KAZR. The Oct. 31 filings identify the $20 million investment and the ownership stake ahead of the combination with Cove Kaz.