Discovery Air Inc. is pleased to announce that its subsidiary, Great Slave Helicopters (GSH), has been awarded a new two-year contract with Newmont Mining Corp./Hope Bay Mining Ltd.

The contract, operated through GSH’s majority Inuit-owned joint-venture partner Kitikmeot Helicopters, covers this year’s five-month exploration program out of the Doris Camp as well as next year’s yet-to-be-determined program. During 2010 alone, the contract will result in a high-utilization commitment for at least four intermediate helicopters supporting exploratory drilling and crew movements. Gross revenue related to Year 1 of this contract is expected to be approximately $4 million.

“Having also worked with Newmont on this project in 2009, this new contract clearly attests to GSH’s proven experience, company-wide commitment to safety, past performance and our ability to properly support an advanced exploration project of this scope,” said Jeff Denomme, President of GSH. “We look forward to continuing this relationship as Newmont works to refine its plans for developing a large-scale gold mine in the region.”

Based in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, Kitikmeot Helicopters was the first NTI-registered helicopter company in the Kitikmeot region. For almost 12 years Kitikmeot Helicopters has been a dependable leader in providing safe, customer-focused rotary-wing charter solutions anywhere around the region.

“The future of this region of Nunavut is very promising thanks in part to the investment being made by Newmont Mining in the Hope Bay project,” said Bill Lyall, President of Kitikmeot Helicopters and a Nunavut Land Claims Beneficiary. “We are proud to have been selected to provide helicopter services during the next two years for a global mining leader like Newmont – a good corporate citizen which clearly understands the value of doing business with reliable, experienced Inuit-owned firms like Kitikmeot Helicopters.”

For its part, Newmont Mining reported that contracting Inuit-owned, Kitikmeot-based firms that have a proven track record of safety and reliability is key to its plans at Hope Bay moving forward.

“We are very pleased to see Kitikmeot Helicopters was again successful in the tendering process for our project as they have proven themselves over their six years of service at the site,” said Mike McCreadie, Logistics Manager Newmont Mining Corp./Hope Bay Mining Ltd. “As a company we want to ensure that the Hope Bay project leaves a lasting legacy in the region and that begins with utilizing the talent and expertise that exists among the established business community in the region and that certainly includes Kitikmeot Helicopters.”

ABOUT THE GREAT SLAVE HELICOPTER PARTNERSHIPS
Great Slave Helicopters Ltd. has nine profitable, Aboriginal-owned joint-venture partnerships around the NWT and Nunavut, including Denendeh Helicopters, Dehcho Regional Helicopters, Akaitcho Helicopters, Sahtu Helicopters, Tlicho Helicopters, Kitikmeot Helicopters, Gwich’in Helicopters, Havgun Helicopters, and Kivalliq Aviation. Together these partnerships come together in the Northlinx network and allow all partners to benefit from pan-territorial mega-projects requiring helicopter services.

ABOUT DISCOVERY AIR AND ITS SUBSIDIARIES
Founded in 2004, Discovery Air Inc. is a specialty aviation services company operating across Canada and in select locations internationally. With 145 aircraft, it is one of the largest air operators in Canada, employing 450 flight crew, maintainers and support staff to deliver a variety of air transport and logistics solutions to a wide range of government and business customers. The Company’s Government Services segment includes two subsidiaries: Top Aces Inc., which delivers airborne training and special mission services to the Canadian military; and Hicks & Lawrence, a primary supplier of airborne fire management services to the Ontario government and charter services to government agencies and corporate customers. The Company’s Northern Services segment includes three subsidiaries: Great Slave Helicopters, the second-largest VFR helicopter operator in the country; Air Tindi, a fixed-wing aircraft charter provider primarily based in Northern Canada; and Discovery Mining Services, which constructs and rents all-weather exploration camps and provides expediting and logistical support services.