Owners of the NWT’s Nechalacho rare earths mine are now sponsoring an electric vehicle used by a Yellowknife car-sharing group.
The cost of the Yellowknife Car Share Co-op’s new Chevrolet Bolt, which is fully electric, is being subsidized by Cheetah Resources, the two parties stated in a Saturday press release.
Cheetah, owned by Vital Metals, has mined for rare earths at Nechalacho – around 100 km east of Yellowknife – since 2021. Rare earths are used in a variety of vehicle components, including those in electric vehicles.
Yellowknife Car Share Co-op treasurer Andrew Robinson said the agreement was worth $1,000 annually. In the press release, he said that sum would allow the group “to continue offering our GM Bolt EV at an affordable hourly rate.”
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“It is not that often that you see a mining company and an environmental non-profit finding something they can work on together,” Robinson added in an email to reporters.
According to Robinson, more than 55 drivers are signed up to share the group’s vehicles. The Bolt is available from $10 per hour from its charging station at Yellowknife’s Somba K’e Park.
