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Arizona Eagle Mining ($AZEM) Targets Gold Expansion in Arizona | Don Durrett & John Feneck Interview

Investor TV May 15, 2026

Summary

Don Durrett stays near-term negative on gold, silver, and the S&P, calling the current rally a dead cat bounce that likely fades by mid-June.

Copper's breakout lifts junior miners, and Durrett notes by-product copper lowers AISC (All-In Sustaining Cost — full production cost) for major gold miners.

CEO Kevin Reid says Arizona Eagle Mining consolidated a past-producing Arizona district around an 877,000-ounce historic gold estimate at 11.7 grams per ton.

Reid's team controls roughly ten times the historic mine's 800-meter strike on patented private ground, where a drill permit took 48 hours.

Durrett values the near-million high-grade ounces far above the company's $65 million Canadian market cap, calling it an optionality play on discovery.

Key points on Agnico Eagle Mines

  • Don Durrett says high copper prices are keeping AISC low at Agnico Eagle, with copper acting as a useful offset metal for the big gold miners.

Key points on Barrick Mining

  • Don Durrett says Barrick's AISC was low because of copper, and that copper holding above $6 — which he calls the new normal — keeps benefiting the big gold and silver miners.

Key points on Newmont

  • Don Durrett counts Newmont among the large gold miners whose AISC benefits from high copper prices as an offset metal.
  • Kevin Reid recounts a 1987 Newmont Gold spinout tied to monetizing copper assets and says Newmont gold geologists were part of the McCabe mine's ownership history in the early 1990s.

Don Durrett's takeaways

  • Top takeaway Values Arizona Eagle Mining's gold at a minimum $300 per ounce in the ground at $7,000 gold — about $300 million at 1 million ounces and $600 million at 2 million — sees a billion-dollar combined gold-and-silver target, calls the stock an optionality play at roughly $6 per ounce in the ground, and asks to join the next private placement.
  • Says he is negative on gold, silver and the S&P in the near term as of the interview: he expects the S&P to fall sometime between now and mid-June and calls the rally a dead cat bounce, even as silver breaks through $82 and $84 toward $86.
  • Argues the war ends messily because Iran cannot reopen the Strait without surrendering, and he dismisses Wall Street's optimism about a quick resolution even with the S&P at 7,400 and record highs.
  • Sees copper above $6 as the new normal and as an offset metal that keeps AISC low for big gold miners such as Barrick, Agnico Eagle and Newmont.
  • Presses on permitting and calls the roughly 24-month path on private patented ground a major value advantage over federal ground, which he says makes the company's value attractive.

Kevin Reid's takeaways

  • Top takeaway Presents Arizona Eagle Mining as the first consolidation of its Arizona district in 150 years — about 5,000 acres around the past-producing McCabe Mine, made up of 420 patented acres plus roughly 4,500 BLM acres — anchored by a historic estimate of 877,000 ounces of gold at 11.7 g/t plus 5 million ounces of silver at 69 g/t.
  • Stresses the 11.7 g/t figure is a recovered grade with a head grade closer to 16 g/t, and that the 6.8 g/t cutoff was set in the 1980s at $360 gold versus about $4,700 today, implying more ounces at a modern 2 g/t cutoff.
  • Lays out exploration upside: about 8 km of strike on private ground versus the estimate's 800 meters, mineralization open at depth (an old hole reportedly cut about 2 m of 19 g/t at 480 m), 12 past-producing shallow mines, and a seven-hole first program that hit the historic zone on its second hole.
  • Details a tight structure — 49 million shares with 54% escrowed for three years, about C$65 million market cap, $13 million raised privately, and warrants that would add roughly $10 million if exercised — with only a 2% NSR on the McCabe (1% buyable for $1 million) and everything else royalty-free.
  • Refuses to set a timeline for a 43-101 or PEA, saying the job is to keep drilling until returns diminish, and tells Don Durrett that showing 2 million-plus high-grade ounces would make his numbers bigger than Don's.

John Fenwick's takeaways

  • Top takeaway Hosts the interview, framing Arizona Eagle Mining as a new name in the gold space and prompting Kevin Reid's company overview.
  • Asks about the share structure (shares outstanding, options and warrants), the timeline to a 43-101 and PEA, and how much of the land package is private ground.