American business executive
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Pini Althaus |
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|---|---|
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| Born |
Pini Althaus 1973 or 1974 (age 51–52) Melbourne, Australia |
| Education | Rabbinical College of America (MRb) |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Title | Chair and CEO, Cove Capital LLC |
Pini Althaus is a mining executive known for his work in developing critical mineral supply chains and vertically integrated rare earth and tungsten projects across the United States and Central Asia. He founded USA Rare Earth and led the Round Top rare earth and lithium project in Texas, and currently serves as CEO of Cove Capital LLC, Chair and CEO of Kaz Resources LLC and Chairman CEO of REEMAG LLC.[1]
Early life and education
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Althaus was born in Melbourne, Australia, and raised in a Chassidic Lubavitch community. He studied at the Rabbinical College of America, where he earned a rabbinical degree before transitioning into the mining and critical minerals sector.</ref>[2]
Althaus is the founder and former CEO of USA Rare Earth, which he co-founded to advance the Round Top project in Texas, a deposit containing heavy rare earth elements, lithium and gallium. Under his leadership, the company:
- Advanced Round Top as part of a proposed U.S. domestic rare earth and mine-to-magnets supply chain.
- Commissioned a rare earth and critical minerals processing facility in Wheat Ridge, Colorado, designed to separate rare earth oxides and process associated materials, including lithium.[3] Acquired the only neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) permanent magnet manufacturing system in the Americas (formerly operated by Hitachi Metals in North Carolina) and began re-establishing it in Stillwater, Oklahoma, in a new US$100 million facility.
USA Rare Earth grew into a company with a reported valuation of over US$1 billion while Althaus was CEO and became a reference point in U.S. discussions about mine-to-magnet supply chains. [5] Cove Capital, Cove Kaz Capital Group, Kaz Resources and Central Asia
In 2015, Althaus founded Cove Capital LLC, a New York– and Melbourne-based firm focused on mining, renewable energy and critical minerals projects aligned with U.S. and allied supply chains.
Through Cove Capital LLC and related entities, he leads a portfolio of critical mineral projects in Kazakhstan, including legacy Soviet-era licenses containing tungsten, lithium, tantalum, niobium, beryllium, tin and rare earth elements, developed in partnership with Kazakhstan’s state mining entities such as Tau-Ken Samruk and Samruk-Kazyna. [4]
Award of the Northern Katpar and Upper Kairakty tungsten projects
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In 2025, Cove Capital (through Cove Kaz Capital and in joint venture with Tau-Ken Samruk) secured the right to develop the Northern Katpar and Upper Kairakty tungsten deposits in Kazakhstan’s Karaganda region. The projects are widely described as the largest undeveloped tungsten resources in the world, with combined resources of up to approximately 410,000 tonnes of contained tungsten, $80 Billion of contained minerals at today’s market price and a projected mine life of more than 50 years.
The joint venture, includes an investment by Cove Kaz Capital of US$1.1 billion, provides Cove Kaz Capital with a 70% operating stake, with 30% held by Tau-Ken Samruk, and has received a letter of interest from the U.S. Export-Import Bank indicating potential financing of up to US$900 million.
According to press reports, U.S. President Donald Trump and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick personally advocated for the American bid and helped negotiate the agreement, which faced competing offers from Chinese state-backed firms. [7] Supplies from the tungsten venture are expected to prioritize U.S. government and commercial needs, and refining is planned within Kazakhstan as part of a broader U.S.–Kazakhstan effort to deepen critical mineral ties. [5]
Akbulak rare earth project
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In addition to tungsten, Althaus oversees the Akbulak rare earths project in Kazakhstan, a joint venture between Cove Kaz Capital and Tau-Ken Samruk. The project is based on historic Soviet-era data and a JORC-classified resource that has been cited at around 380,000 tonnes of rare earth elements, with a focus on magnet metals such as neodymium, praseodymium and dysprosium. [9] His work in Kazakhstan has included participation in high-level U.S.–Central Asia meetings in Washington, D.C., where Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and U.S. President Donald Trump announced new critical minerals cooperation and the tungsten joint venture between Tau-Ken Samruk and Cove Capital. [6]
Uzbekistan initiatives
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Althaus also leads Cove Capital’s expanding activities in Uzbekistan, focused on critical raw materials and value-added processing. Cove Capital has signed cooperation agreements with the Government of Uzbekistan, including with Uzbekistan Technological Metals Complex JSC (UzTMK) and the Ministry of Mining Industry and Geology, covering exploration and development of critical mineral projects and downstream production.
Public statements by Uzbek authorities and UzTMK describe Cove Capital as a strategic U.S. partner in plans to build an integrated critical raw materials hub, with projects spanning mining, processing and advanced materials. According to media reports, Althaus has met Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev four times in 2025 to discuss joint ventures under the UzTMK framework and broader U.S.–Uzbekistan cooperation on critical minerals. [11]
Althaus previously co-founded Dominion Minerals Corporation, which advanced copper-gold-silver projects in Panama.
He is also CEO of REEMAG LLC, which is commercializing a low-carbon rare earth magnet recycling and production technology developed by the Weizmann Institute of Science, aimed at reducing the environmental footprint and energy intensity of magnet production. [12] Althaus serves as a Non-Executive Director of Challenger Gold Limited, where he has been credited with helping identify and advance the Hualilan Gold Project in Argentina, a project with a multi-million-ounce resource and plans to become a low-cost producer. [13]
Advocacy and public engagement
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Althaus is a frequent commentator on critical minerals policy, supply-chain security and the need to reduce reliance on Chinese production of rare earths, tungsten and other strategic materials. His commentary has appeared in outlets including Forbes, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, CNBC, FOX and other media.
Based in part on his roles at USA Rare Earth, Cove Capital and Kaz Resources, Althaus has also been active in policy discussions in Washington, D.C. He has engaged with senior officials in multiple United States administrations, including staff in the White House and executive departments, and with members of both major political parties in Congress, to promote critical minerals as a bipartisan national security, industrial and energy issue. According to company accounts and media commentary, he has provided input that has helped inform presidential executive orders on critical minerals and contributed to efforts to advance critical minerals legislation in the United States Congress.
He has participated in international forums such as the Future Minerals Forum in Saudi Arabia and regional mining conferences in Central Asia, and has spoken in support of initiatives like Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and the critical raw materials strategies of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
Legacy and leadership
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Across his career in mining and critical minerals, Althaus has been associated with:
Early efforts to build a United States mine-to-magnet rare earth supply chain.
Large-scale critical minerals developments in Texas, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
Advocacy for allied, environmentally responsible production of strategic materials used in defense, aerospace, semiconductors, renewable energy and electric vehicles.
