Trump-Backed Shell Company Merges With Kazakhstan Tungsten Mining Group After $1.6B US Government Funding

A shell company backed by Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump has agreed to a merger with a mining group that secured up to $1.6 billion from the US government in 2025 to facilitate the extraction of tungsten in Kazakhstan, the Financial Times has reported.

The agreement between Skyline Builders group, in which US President Donald Trump's sons hold a stake, and Cove Kaz Capital group was signed on Thursday. The newly-formed entity will trade on Nasdaq as Kaz Resources, according to a statement.

Cove Kaz currently controls 70% of the Northern Katpar and Upper Kairakty tungsten deposits in central Kazakhstan, believed to be one of the largest in the world. Last year, the federally-funded US Export-Import Bank and the Development Finance Corporation committed to invest heavily in the development of both projects.

The statement didn't mention Trump's sons, but the FT reported on Friday, citing informed sources, that they bought into Skyline last August via a special purpose vehicle run by a subsidiary of Dominari Securities. The size of their investment was not disclosed, but they increased it by $24 million in October.

The paper stressed that "there is no suggestion that Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump knew that Cove was on the cusp of securing a contract from their father's US administration when they made their initial investments in Skyline… or that they influenced the awarding of the contract."

American Ventures, of which Dominari is a member, said that Donald Trump Jr. "has no operational involvement in the company" and "does not interface with the federal government on behalf of any company he invests in." Eric Trump didn't respond to a request for comment from the FT.

The Democrats have repeatedly sounded the alarm over potential conflicts of interest arising from the investments by Trump's family members in companies that have secured lucrative government contracts. The president's kin made more than $1 billion in pre-tax profits last year by getting involved in cryptocurrency, AI, drones and critical minerals projects, according to FT.

Due to its high heat resistance and hardness, tungsten is essential in the production of aerospace and defense equipment. The US currently has no active mines producing the metal and is highly dependent on China for its deliveries.