Kazakhstan's tungsten reserves emerge as strategic prize in China-US rivalry

Kazakhstan is emerging at the crossroads of two major global trends: the intensifying race for critical minerals and surging defence expenditures. The Central Asian state is reasserting itself as a significant player in the sector for tungsten — also known as wolfram. Yet the implications of its new projects extend well beyond mining, as the metal becomes increasingly embedded in the broader strategic competition between the United States and China, as well as in the restructuring of global supply chains.

With defence budgets reaching historic highs and governments modernizing their armed forces, diversifying access to strategic metals has become integral to national security planning, according to an analysis published by The Diplomat.

Tungsten is classified as a critical mineral vital to the resilience of defence and aerospace industries. Its exceptional hardness and wear resistance make it indispensable for jet engine components, munitions, mining machinery and precision industrial tools. Possessing the highest melting point of any known element, tungsten is also used in armour-piercing ammunition, missile systems, aerospace alloys, semiconductor manufacturing tools and equipment for nuclear and defence applications.

Despite its strategic importance, the global tungsten supply chain is highly concentrated. Data from the United States Geological Survey indicate that China accounts for roughly 83 percent of global tungsten output, with an even greater share in downstream processing.

Kazakhstan holds substantial tungsten resources — estimated at around 2 million tons of forecasted resources, in addition to considerable proven reserves — positioning it as a potentially influential actor in the international market.

For years after the Soviet period, Kazakhstan’s tungsten production remained limited. That is, however, now shifting as large-scale investment projects are underway to build mining and processing facilities capable of producing tungsten concentrate. Planned developments extend beyond extraction and beneficiation to include chemical processing and, over time, the manufacture of tungsten carbide.

The most significant deposits are located at Upper Kairakty (Verkhnekayraktinskoye) and Northern Katpar (Severnoye Katparskoye) in the Karaganda region south of Astana. Together, these fields are estimated to contain approximately 1.3 million tons of tungsten reserves. 

As the article suggests, bringing them into full production could considerably enhance Kazakhstan’s standing in the global reserve structure, potentially making it one of the largest tungsten resource holders outside China.

American gaze on Kazakhstan

The reported interest of the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) in providing up to $700 million in financing for the Northern Katpar project highlights the geopolitical dimension of Kazakhstan’s tungsten revival. The potential involvement of US financial instruments signals broader efforts to diversify and de-risk global supply chains.

Tungsten’s relevance extends beyond military uses. It is also essential for silicon wafer processing equipment, high-temperature industrial components and semiconductor manufacturing tools, linking defence capabilities with advanced electronics production.

Washington’s growing focus on Central Asia’s strategic minerals reflects intensifying competition with China, evident in expanding diplomatic engagement and financial backing for resource initiatives.

As the article argues, Kazakhstan now sits at the intersection of two structural transformations: the militarization of the global economy and the escalating technological rivalry between the United States and China. Together, these forces are shaping a new form of international engagement often described as critical minerals diplomacy.

Rise of middle power

Kazakhstan has sought to position itself as a middle power — avoiding rigid bloc alignment while remaining active in regional and global diplomacy. In a world marked by technological fragmentation, such middle powers are gaining strategic relevance.

According to the analysis, resource sovereignty for a middle power entails several core principles: maintaining control over domestic processing; diversifying technological partnerships; developing national engineering and metallurgical expertise in strategic materials; and integrating into multiple technological ecosystems without becoming dependent on a single partner.

It concludes its review on the unique situation Kazakhstan finds itself in by pointing out the following: should Kazakhstan succeed in embedding tungsten into its own industrial ecosystem, it would take a step toward a new foreign economic strategy – one based on resource sovereignty, where strategic materials become not instruments of dependency, but sources of negotiating leverage.

By Nazrin Sadigova