Revival in Sight: An Experienced Team is giving Stan West Mining’s Past-Producing McCabe Mine a Well Deserved Second Chance.

4 minute read - Published 09:00 AM EST,  Thursday, October 16, 2025

This article was authored by Peyton Baird of witan nook. 

A seasoned team of mineral industry executives, with a proven track record of success, is embarking on an ambitious new venture with Arizona Eagle Mining Corp. This group, led by Kevin Reid, Paul Reid, Marc Pais, and David Smith, has already left its mark on the industry through the successful development of Telegraph Gold Inc. (now operated by Equinox Gold) and Arizona Metals Corp. (TSX: AMC). Now, they are setting their sights on the McCabe Mine using their new company, Arizona Eagle Mining, which is poised to go public through a reverse takeover (RTO) of Core Nickel Corp. (TSXV: CNCO). With a $10 million fundraising effort underway and a focus on the promising Eagle Project, including the historic McCabe Mine, Arizona Eagle Mining, and its management team, is positioned to unlock significant value in Arizona’s mineral-rich Yavapai County once again.

The Eagle Project's  McCabe  Mine in the 1990s   | Arizona Eagle Mining

A Team with a Proven Track Record

The leadership team behind Arizona Eagle Mining brings decades of expertise and a history of delivering results in exploration, corporate management, and fundraising. Kevin Reid, with a BSc in Geological Sciences and an MBA in Finance, has over 20 years of capital markets experience, having served as a lead advisor on numerous equity, debt, and M&A transactions at firms like CIBC World Markets, GMP Securities, and Maxit Capital (where he is currently a Managing Partner). Paul Reid, co-founder and former Executive Chairman of Arizona Metals Corp. and Telegraph Gold, has extensive experience in raising capital and navigating public markets. Marc Pais, also a co-founder of both Arizona Metals and Telegraph Gold, brings a geological engineering perspective and a background as a mining research analyst focused on exploration and development. Rounding out the team is David Smith, a certified professional geologist with over 40 years of experience across diverse ore deposits in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Chile, and China, with a particular emphasis on gold and precious metals. Their collective expertise has driven the success of past ventures, and they are now applying their skills to Arizona Eagle Mining’s Eagle Project and its McCabe mine. 

Arizona Eagle Mining’s Eagle Project’s Claim Map | Arizona Eagle Mining

The Reverse Takeover with Core Nickel

On September 16, 2025 (Press Release), Arizona Copper and Gold Inc. (ACG), the precursor to Arizona Eagle Mining, announced a non-binding letter of intent with Core Nickel Corp. to execute an RTO. This transaction will see Core acquire all of ACG’s outstanding securities, resulting in a reverse takeover by ACG’s shareholders. The deal is expected to close by December 31, 2025, pending necessary regulatory and shareholder approvals, including from the TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV). The transaction involves a share exchange at an anticipated 1:1 ratio, with ACG shareholders receiving Core shares, and convertible securities of ACG being replaced with equivalent Core securities. Core will also undertake a 10:1 share consolidation prior to or concurrently with the transaction’s closing. Upon completion, the resulting issuer will be renamed Arizona Eagle Mining Corp. and continue ACG’s business, focusing primarily on the Eagle Project while retaining Core’s Thompson Nickel Belt assets in Manitoba. Trading of Core’s shares has been halted pending TSXV review and will resume once conditions are met.

$10 Million Fundraising to facilitate the RTO and Fuel Exploration

To support the RTO and future exploration, ACG launched a brokered private placement of subscription receipts on October 2, 2025 (Press Release), targeting gross proceeds of up to $10 million, with an option for an additional $1.5 million. Priced at $1.50 per subscription receipt, the offering is led by Stifel Canada and a syndicate of agents. Each subscription receipt will convert into one ACG unit upon satisfying escrow release conditions, comprising one ACG share and one-half of an ACG warrant, exercisable at $2.00 for two years. Post-transaction, these securities will convert into shares and warrants of Arizona Eagle Mining.

Excerpt from The Northern Miner’s 1988 Article on Stan West Mining’s Gold Pour at McCabe | The Northern Miner

The Eagle Project and McCabe Mine: A Promising Future

Arizona Eagle Mining’s flagship Eagle Project, located in Yavapai County, Arizona, centers on the historic McCabe Mine, which has a 1984 mineral resource estimate of 877,617 ounces of gold at 11.7 g/t and 5,119,169 ounces of silver at 69 g/t. Between 1980 and 1988, Stan West Mining and Magma Mining invested approximately US$35 million (equivalent to CDN$110 million in 2025 dollars) in exploration, development, and production, yet only 80,000 ounces of gold were mined, leaving significant potential for the remaining 800,000 ounces. The McCabe deposit, explored to a depth of 315 meters, remains open at depth and along strike, with limited drilling below 440 meters yielding grades up to 46 g/t gold. AEM has identified 12 parallel and conjugate veins within a 5-km radius, many untested by modern exploration methods. The broader Eagle Property, covering 3,470 acres, shows strong potential for volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) mineralization, similar to the nearby Iron King Mine, which is also the same deposit of the team's previous success story with Arizona Metals Corporation. Recent sampling in September and October 2024 yielded high-grade results, including 92 g/t gold, 27.6% copper, and 653 g/t silver, indicating significant exploration upside. A helicopter VTEM and magnetic survey was completed in 2025, with a property-wide IP survey planned for September 2025. AEM aims to expand and define the McCabe deposit and explore the Eagle Copper Zone, leveraging modern exploration techniques and a conventional flowsheet with estimated recoveries of 90% for gold and 40% for silver.

McCabe Mine’s 1984 Historic Estimate Calculated using a cut-off grade of 6.8 g/t gold | Stan West Annual Report 1984

Looking Ahead

With a robust leadership team, a strategic RTO, and a substantial fundraising effort, Arizona Eagle Mining is well-positioned to advance the Eagle Project. The company plans to prioritize exploration and development at the McCabe Mine and surrounding Eagle Property, capitalizing on high-grade gold, silver, and copper potential. By integrating historical data with modern exploration methods, Arizona Eagle Mining aims to unlock the full value of its assets, potentially establishing itself as a leading player in the exploration of precious metals - adding another success story to the management team's CV.

This article was authored by Peyton Baird of witan nook.