Guy Quenneville
Northern News Services
Published Wednesday, January 16, 2008

YELLOWKNIFE - Discovery Air Inc. acquired Discovery Mining Services last week for $10 million, the latest in a series of purchases for the Ontario-based aircraft business.

Discovery Air has been on a buying spree since the summer of 2006, purchasing several aircraft businesses throughout Canada, including Great Slave Helicopters and Air Tindi.

A camp set up by Discovery Mining Services in the NWT. DMS was recently acquired by Ontario-based Discovery Air Inc. - photo courtesy of Discovery Air

Discovery Mining Services provides remote exploration camps for mining companies that makes it a natural fit for Discovery Air, which receives nearly a third of its revenue from the mining and mineral exploration industry, said Shawn Clarke, the company's chief operating officer.

"We're not consolidating," said Clarke. "'Consolidating' suggests we're rolling everything into one. We think it's important that the brand equity and the businesses that these guys have built continue to operate under their own power."

No staff jobs will be lost or transferred and he said it will be up to Discovery Mining Services whether it needs to up its staffing numbers.

The company currently has eight full-time staff members and other part-timers due to the seasonal nature of the business. However, the move from a private company to publicly-traded one will necessitate some changes.

"What we're hoping to do is bring some high-level corporate services that can hopefully ease their administrative burdens," said Clarke. "Financial management, accounting, legal services - that kind of thing."

Discovery Air will also be leaning on Discovery Mining Services for advice in some areas.

"DMS has a unique perspective and market awareness. If Discovery Air was to bring in a new type of plane, we would draw on DMS' knowledge on what the correct airplane would be," said Clarke.

At the same time, he said Discovery Air will encourage the Yellowknife-based Discovery Mining Services to expand into areas such as Northern Ontario, where another of Discovery Air's aircraft company holdings, Hicks and Lawrence, operates its own flight bases.

"Maybe DMS can tap into some of the exploration markets down there," he said.

"However our existing business can support them down there, they will."

Rod Brown, president of Discovery Mining Services, said in a press release, "We see this as an opportunity to expand our service portfolio."

Robert Carroll, vice-president of marketing and business development for Great Slave Helicopters, which was acquired by Discovery in 2006, described Discovery as a "parent company" that has nurtured Great Slave and helped it grow.

"It's actually provided us with increased capital which allowed us to purchase a new fleet of airplanes which allowed us to service new types of customers and therefore expand our client base," he said.