ASTANA, Kazakhstan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 9, 2026--
Cove Kaz Capital Group LLC (“Cove Kaz” or “the Company”) announced today that site preparation will commence in July at the open pit mine location of the Northern Katpar and Upper Kairakty tungsten deposits in Kazakhstan, collectively known as Severniy Katpar. The work activities include the initial land survey, site road establishment, initial drill pad preparation, and the opening of a site office to support the commencement of the Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS).
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“This is a demonstrable moment of establishing a base camp at Northern Katpar, the first major commercial activity on-site since its initial exploration during the Soviet Era. These activities will support the drilling and engineering teams as we proceed with the final engineering studies to develop the tungsten project. Through mutual cooperation with our partner Tau-Ken Samruk, Cove Kaz is pleased to advance the project to this final phase prior to production,” said Dominic Heaton, Chief Executive Officer of Cove Kaz Capital Group LLC.
The Company will perform core drilling samples in August and will begin upgrading existing access roads to the site. Perimeter fencing and weather monitoring stations will also be installed. The presence of heavy industrial equipment will support the preparation of drilling sites. Road activity will increase with regularity between July and November.
Severniy Katpar LLP owns the largest known undeveloped tungsten resource globally. Feasibility studies completed in April 2023 reported total JORC-compliant mineral resources containing 1.4 million tonnes of tungsten trioxide (WO3) and support anticipated production of approximately 5,000 metric tonnes per annum (mtpa) at Northern Katpar, and 7,000 mtpa from Upper Kairakty, for a total of 12,000 mtpa, representing approximately 15% of current global tungsten mine production.
In support of the DFS, the Company continues to hire senior executives in Kazakhstan. Adil Amerkhanov has been appointed Chief Financial Officer of Kazakhstan Operations. Mr. Amerkhanov has more than 20 years of professional experience in finance, reporting, and transformation experience across mining, metals, oil and gas, energy and infrastructure. Prior to joining Cove Kaz, he spent over two decades with PwC, where his work included international assignments and the leadership of complex finance, accounting and capital markets readiness engagements across Eurasia. He has worked with major natural resources and industrial companies on reporting, cost accounting, finance function design and transformation programs.
“As a Kazakhstan citizen, I take great pride in supporting our American partners on this worthy endeavor to bring Northern Katpar and Upper Kairakty into production. My experience in mining, metals and energy will support Cove Kaz as it progresses towards key development milestones,” said Adil Amerkhanov, Chief Financial Officer of Kazakhstan Operations, Cove Kaz Capital Group LLC.
About Cove Kaz Capital Group LLC
Cove Kaz Capital Group LLC is a U.S.-backed critical minerals development company focused on advancing strategic critical minerals resource projects in Kazakhstan. On April 29, 2026, the company acquired a 70 percent controlling interest in Severniy Katpar LLP, a joint venture with Kazakhstan’s national mining company Tau-Ken Samruk, which retains the remaining 30 percent.
Through this partnership, Cove Kaz will be developing the Northern Katpar and Upper Kairakty tungsten deposits, among the largest undeveloped tungsten resources globally. Project development is guided by Kazakhstan’s regulatory framework and international standards for environmental protection, health and safety, and responsible mining practices. The project is advancing through feasibility, permitting, and development toward commercial production, with the objective of establishing a long-term, secure supply of tungsten to support critical industrial and high-technology applications in the United States and global markets.
The project is also expected to contribute to Kazakhstan’s economic development through infrastructure upgrades, job creation, development of local expertise, technology transfer, tax revenues, and broader integration of Kazakhstan into global critical minerals value chains.
On April 30, 2026, Cove Kaz Capital Group LLC and Skyline Builders Group Holding Limited (“Skyline” or “KAZR”) (Nasdaq: KAZR) announced the companies entered into a Transaction Agreement to effect a business combination. Upon completion of the business combination, the combined company plans to operate under the name “Kaz Resources Inc.” and trade on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “KAZR." For more information, please visit: https://www.kazresources.com
Open pit mine location of the Northern Katpar and Upper Kairakty tungsten deposits in Kazakhstan, collectively known as Severniy Katpar. Provided courtesy of Cove Kaz Capital Group
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Over the last month, Democratic socialists have notched victories in the liberal strongholds of New York City, Washington, D.C., and Denver.
Now Francesca Hong, a single mother who has worked as a dishwasher and line cook, is trying to do the same with her campaign for governor in Wisconsin, a swing state known for razor-thin election margins where winning over moderate, independent voters is crucial.
Hong's candidacy has turned the Democratic primary on Aug. 11 into the latest test of just how far left voters are willing to go in the November midterms.
“We do this in Wisconsin, we’re going to change politics across the country,” the 37-year-old Hong said as she headed into the final month of campaigning. "People who are frustrated and have a lot more to lose — and I’m one of those people — are ready to coalesce around someone they can believe in.”
John Ravdabaugh, an undecided independent voter, came away impressed after hearing Hong speak at the retirement home where he lives. Even though the democratic socialist label concerns him, Ravdabaugh said he would consider voting for Hong.
“Every system reaches a point where change is necessary,” he said.
Whoever wins the primary will advance to almost certainly face Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, one of the most conservative members of the House, who has President Donald Trump’s endorsement. Tiffany has only token opposition in the primary.
The governor's race is integral to Democrats’ hopes of earning full control of Wisconsin state government for the first time since 2010, and it will send a signal about where the country's politics are headed by shaping a key political battleground that helps decide presidential campaigns.
Tiffany has focused much of his criticism on Hong and former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, another Democratic candidate for governor.
“This November, the choice is common sense or crazy,” Tiffany posted on social media in June. Tiffany included screenshots of a Barnes post where he voiced support for cutting prison populations by half and Hong's posts where she advocates for defunding and abolishing the police.
As a candidate, Hong has not backed away from her calls to defund and abolish the police. Hong also supports increasing taxes on the wealthy and creating a state-owned bank to help pay for free health care and free child care, a $20 minimum wage, and a moratorium on data center construction.
Hong dismisses concerns that she’s too liberal to win over key independent voters in a state Trump carried twice and narrowly lost a third time.
“I worry that’s a miscalculation of where voters are at in our state, that we’re underestimating what people want,” Hong said in an interview.
Last month, democratic socialist Janeese Lewis George won the Democratic primary for mayor of Washington, setting herself up to clinch the office in November.
Then three congressional candidates backed by New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, another democratic socialist, defeated establishment-backed politicians.
And just last week, democratic socialist Melat Kiros beat U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette in the Colorado primary, a stunning victory for the 29-year-old, first-time candidate against an incumbent who took office before she was born.
But those victories have been in either congressional or mayoral races in large urban centers, a far different landscape than Wisconsin.
In 1910, during socialism’s heyday in the United States, Milwaukee sent the first socialist to Congress and was the first major American city to elect a socialist mayor. Milwaukee elected two more socialist mayors before 1960.
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, perhaps the best known democratic socialist, won all but one county in Wisconsin in the 2016 Democratic primary. In 2023, two state lawmakers from Milwaukee revived the socialist caucus in the Legislature, which had been dormant since 1935.
Hong, the first Asian American elected to the state Assembly in 2020, is one of four members of that caucus.
Barnes, 39, served four years in the state Assembly before his four years as lieutenant governor under Democratic Gov. Tony Evers. In 2022, Barnes came within 27,000 votes of ousting Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson.
“I’ve been around longer than anybody fighting these fights,” said Barnes, who grew up in Milwaukee and is vying to become Wisconsin's first Black governor.
He played down the idea that democratic socialists are surging.
“People aren’t looking for labels, necessarily,” he said. “People are looking for bold solutions.”
Longtime Democratic strategist Joe Zepecki, who is not working for any of the Democrats running this year, said Barnes has an advantage as the most well-known candidate in the race.
“I have believed from the day since Mandela Barnes got into the race, he's the favorite,” Zepecki said. “It is his race to lose.”
Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, a former nurse and health care executive who is also running for the Democratic nomination, said she'll have broader appeal in November. She cites her experience in the private sector and her flipping of a state Assembly seat in a conservative Milwaukee suburb, and she emphasizes her ideas for lowering costs for working people.
“I’m not worried about other candidates in this race,” Rodriguez said in an interview. “What I’m worried about is making my argument to Wisconsinites about why I’m the best person to lead the state, how I am going to fight for them."
She launched a $1 million television ad campaign this week that features her in nursing scrubs talking about taking on Tiffany and lowering health care costs.
Other Democratic candidates are state Sen. Kelda Roys, who has the endorsement of the statewide teachers union, and Joel Brennan, a former top aide to Evers.
Missy Hughes, the state’s former economic development director, dropped out of the race in June and endorsed Rodriguez. David Crowley, the top elected official in Milwaukee County, dropped out this week and also backed Rodriguez.
More moderate Democrats worry that nominating Hong could hurt them in the general election, especially in Wisconsin where independent voters are key in statewide races that are often decided by tiny margins.
Neera Tanden, who leads the Center for American Progress, said "it’s especially important in the age of Trump” to select viable candidates.
“In Wisconsin, whoever wins the general election will be the person overseeing elections in 2028 and whether people are seated in 2029.”
Evers won his two races for governor by just over 1 percentage point in 2018 and just over 3 points in 2022. Trump won Wisconsin by less than a point in 2024, and lost by less than a point in 2020.
Dave Smith, 72, a retired doctor from Madison who heard Hong speak Tuesday, said the democratic socialist label will be tough for voters of his generation to accept.
“The platform, much of that resonates well,” said Smith, who is undecided whom he will vote for in the Democratic primary. “My vote will likely go to who is the most electable in the fall.”
Associated Press writer Nicholas Riccardi in Denver contributed to this report.
FILE - Wisconsin Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Mandela Barnes concedes to Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson at a news conference Nov. 9, 2022, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash, File)
Francesca Hong, a Democratic socialist candidate for Wisconsin governor, speaks to voters at a retirement home, Tuesday, July 7, 2026, in Madison, Wis. (AP Photo/Scott Bauer)
