Europe courts Central Asia for critical minerals as producers press for local processing

Europe seeks secure supplies as Central Asia pushes up the value chain

European industry is stepping up efforts to secure sources of critical minerals from Central Asia, while producers in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are pushing for foreign investment that will let them process ores and export higher-value products instead of raw materials.

The dynamics were on display at the International Mining and Metals Forum in Tashkent, where policymakers, miners and financiers discussed technology transfer, financing and transport routes such as the Middle Corridor linking Central Asia to European markets. Brussels, representatives said, expects more than memoranda: it wants clear investment partnerships and concrete industrial cooperation with resource-rich states in the region.

Marat Terterov, founder of the Brussels Energy Club, emphasised that Europes interest extends beyond extraction. There is a need for investment in mineral processing, industrial supply chains and transport infrastructure, he said, pointing to the regions potential role in diversifying European supply chains for materials that underpin renewables, electric vehicles and high-tech manufacturing.

Projects, partners and the push for processing

The EU classifies materials such as lithium and tungsten as critical because of their economic importance and the risks associated with supply concentration. Germany in particular has been active: Matthias Vollert, Germanys ambassador to Uzbekistan, told Euronews that German industry requires a steady flow of critical minerals to support investments in renewables, electric cars and advanced technology.

Bilateral steps are already under way. A joint declaration signed on 29 September by Germany and Kazakhstan endorsed a 20262028 roadmap for industrial cooperation covering mineral extraction, processing and efforts to raise production of higher-value goods inside Kazakhstan. Separately, German miner HMS Bergbau AG is pursuing a lithium extraction and processing project in eastern Kazakhstan that could reach up to $500 million (about €449 million), contingent on confirming commercially viable reserves. That project remains in the exploration and development phase.

Uzbekistan is pursuing a similar strategy, aiming to capture more value domestically rather than exporting concentrates. The state-owned Uzbekistan Technological Metals Complex (TMK), established in 2024, processes tungsten and molybdenum into industrial products such as tungsten oxide and carbide, and molybdenum bars and briquettes. TMK says Germany was its first export market and that it also ships to Belgium, the Netherlands, Türkiye, the United States, Canada, South Korea and Japan. Trade-data platform 52wmb shows TMK exports to EU buyers: molybdenum products to Belgium and the Netherlands, and tungsten oxide to the Netherlands in August 2026.

TMK has actively sought European partners and financing. In September it held a roadshow in Berlin that brought together about 20 German companies and international financial institutions to discuss critical-mineral supplies, technology transfer and manufacturing projects. TMK presented more than 140 proposed investment projects with a combined estimated value of $4.2 billion (roughly €3.77 billion).

On 16 October TMK and Frances Société Générale signed a preliminary term sheet for pre-export financing. That follows a mandate agreement in June to arrange €50 million in financing intended to boost production capacity and exports; a final loan agreement has not yet been announced.

International interests extend beyond Europe. Azerbaijans state-owned miner AzerGold established its first foreign subsidiary in Uzbekistan in October to pursue an 18-month exploration programme at the Akba gold deposit in Kashkadarya. If exploration proves positive, AzerGold plans to form a joint venture to develop the deposit. The company is also negotiating a trilateral joint venture with Uzbekgeologorazvedka JSC and the AzerbaijanUzbekistan Investment Company to explore gold and rare-earth prospects in the Navoi region; a preliminary agreement was signed in July but the venture is not yet formalised.

Producers in Central Asia say their priority is to secure technology and capital that will allow them to keep more of the value chain onshore. The main reason is making value, said Timur Khikmatullaev, TMKs Special Representative for Global Integration. In every step, in every stage we are making the value and then exporting.

The conversation at Tashkent highlighted the balancing act ahead: European demand for secure, diversified sources of lithium, tungsten, molybdenum and other critical materials is opening commercial opportunities, but those opportunities will be realised only if investment deals deliver both extraction capacity for buyers and processing capability for host countries. Infrastructure bottlenecks, finance terms and the technical challenge of building downstream industry remain hurdles.

For European policymakers and companies, Central Asia offers an alternative supply corridor. For Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and their partners, the prize is industrial development and higher-value exports. The next stage will test whether roadmaps and preliminary financing commitments translate into long-term joint ventures, new processing plants and expanded trade across the Middle Corridor linking mines to manufacturers in Europe and beyond.

If successful, such deals could reshape parts of the critical-minerals supply chain moving it away from a narrow set of suppliers while helping Central Asian states capture a larger share of the minerals value.