KAZAKHSTAN — President Donald Trump and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick negotiated an agreement with Kazakh leader Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to grant an American company access to tungsten reserves in Kazakhstan, according to a report. The negotiations led to the formal signing of the mining deal on November 6. The American company granted access to these reserves is named Kaz Resources, and the Trump administration approved preliminary applications for up to $1.6 billion in federal financing for the company. Tungsten is a material used in the production of missile warheads, fighter jets, and computer chips.

Dominari Securities, a firm partly owned by Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, took a 20% stake in a corporate entity related to the Kazakhstan mining project. Dominari Securities is housed at Trump Tower in New York. This investment occurred within weeks of the negotiations held at the St. Regis hotel in New York where Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev met in September to discuss the deal. Federal filings indicate that Dominari Securities, along with other partners, earned fees for assisting in capital raises for the project.

President Trump called into the St. Regis negotiations to handle final discussions. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick also pushed President Tokayev to award the contract to Kaz Resources executive chairman Pini Althaus and his backers. Lutnick wrote in a letter that the Trump administration "fully supports" Kaz Resources.

Cantor Fitzgerald, an investment firm, helped one of the lead investors on the Kazakh deal raise $210 million in new capital for a related entity. Brandon Lutnick and Kyle Lutnick oversee Cantor Fitzgerald. Cantor Fitzgerald stated its involvement is limited to supporting capital raises in public markets and does not include participation in negotiations with any administration. The Commerce Department stated that neither Secretary Lutnick nor anyone at the department interacted with Cantor Fitzgerald regarding the rare earth minerals industry. The Commerce Department noted that Howard Lutnick had sold his ownership stake in Cantor Fitzgerald before his government service.

Eric Trump stated, "I have always remained a passive investor." Pini Althaus said he had never met Donald Trump Jr. or Eric Trump during his search for investors and was not aware of their involvement. None of the $1.6 billion in government support for the Kazakh deal has been disbursed.