The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
First corporate sponsor of YK Car Share, an EV co-op in NWT North of 60 Mining News - January 16, 2023
Vital Metals Chief Operating Officer Eben Visser (left), Cheetah Resources Vice President of Strategy and Corporate Affairs David Connelly (center), and YK Car Share Co-op Treasurer Andrew Robinson (right) with the YK Car Share Chevy Bolt EV sponsored by Cheetah Resources.
In a move that helps provide a tangible link between the rare earth elements produced in Northwest Territories and the green technologies they enable, Cheetah Resources is sponsoring an electric vehicle rideshare cooperative in the NWT capital of Yellowknife.
The YK Car Share Co-op allows members to rent an EV charged with the predominantly hydroelectricity that feeds the power grid in Yellowknife for $10 per hour.
"Electric vehicles and car sharing reduces the environmental impact and cost of doing business in the North," said YK Car Share Co-op Treasurer Andrew Robinson.
The first YK Car Share EV was a Chevrolet Spark that the City of Yellowknife sponsored for use by municipal employees during working hours and is available to co-op members during evenings and weekends.
YK Car Share has now expanded its EV options with a 2022 Chevy Bolt that has a range of roughly 420 kilometers (260 miles) during the summer and about 200 kilometers (125 miles) during the cold Yellowknife winter days.
Cheetah Resources, the Canadian subsidiary of Vital Metals Ltd. and operator of the Nechalacho rare earths mine in NWT, is sponsoring the co-op's new Chevy Bolt.
"We are grateful for the support of Cheetah Resources – our first sponsor from the private sector," Robinson said. "Their support allows the YK Car Share to continue offering our GM Bolt EV at an affordable hourly rate."
Vice President for Strategy and Corporate Development David Connelly says the EVs YK Car Share is bringing to Yellowknife is a tangible representation of the need for Nechalacho. The rare earths produced at this mine are critical to a wide range of green energy and digital technologies, including the powerful magnets that make EV motors more efficient.
"The minerals we are producing at Canada's first rare earth mine will ultimately help drive electric vehicles built in North America and Europe and driven around the world," said Connelly. "What the YK Car Share is doing embodies the reasons, and the resource, we are developing at the Nechalacho Rare Earth Mine: producing the elements essential to the transformation to electric vehicles."
Robinson says YK Car Share has more than 55 drivers, and the co-op continues to welcome new members and corporate sponsors.
The YK Car Share Chevy Bolt sporting Cheetah Resources' yellow-and-black logo is located at the EV charging station near Somba K'e Park in downtown Yellowknife.
More information on the YK Car Share Co-op can be found at https://www.ykcarshare.com/.
Over his more than 16 years of covering mining and mineral exploration, Shane has become renowned for his ability to report on the sector in a way that is technically sound enough to inform industry insiders while being easy to understand by a wider audience.
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