Cooperation between Kazakhstan and the US in the mining sector has developed in recent years according to a model in which access to deposits is increasingly linked to commitments to build processing facilities within the country.
At the ministerial conference on critical minerals in Washington in February 2026, where the Kazakh delegation was led by Foreign Minister Yermek Kosherbayev, Kazakhstan confirmed its readiness to supply 20 of the 60 types of raw materials on the US Geological Survey (USGS) list in the form of finished products in demand in strategic sectors of the global economy.
The main interest of the parties is now focused on the transition from simple extraction to obtaining products with higher added value. For American businesses, this is a way to diversify their sources of supply amid trade restrictions with China, and for Kazakhstan, it is an opportunity to attract investment in the processing industry.
According to data from the Kazakh Foreign Ministry, the country’s mineral resource base includes more than 5,000 deposits, with an estimated value of tens of trillions of dollars. Kazakhstan ranks first in the world in terms of proven reserves of zinc, tungsten and barite, second in terms of reserves of silver, lead and chromite, third in terms of copper and fluorite, fourth in terms of molybdenum and sixth in terms of gold.
