Iris Energy Limited (NASDAQ:IREN) told investors it is increasing its self-mining capacity from 2.0 exahashes per second (EH/s) to 5.5 EH/s, a significant milestone for the company.
The sustainable Bitcoin mining company said it has successfully utilized remaining prepayments of US$67 million under its 10 EH/s contract with Bitmain, including a concurrent sale of 2.3 EH/s of the remaining 6.7 EH/s contracted miners to a third party, to acquire 4.4 EH/s of new S19j Pro miners without any additional cash outlay.
It said its 180MW of data center capacity across British Columbia and Texas is expected to power 5.5 EH/s of high-efficiency S19j Pro miners (29.5 J/TH) over the coming months.
“We are delighted to have been able to utilize our remaining Bitmain prepayments to acquire new miners without any additional cash outlay and, in doing so, not only increase our self-mining capacity to 5.5 EH/s, all powered by 100% renewable energy data center infrastructure, but also fully resolve our obligations under our contract with Bitmain,” Iris Energy co-founder and co-CEO Daniel Roberts in a statement.
READ: Iris Energy ups operating capacity across its Bitcoin mining facilities by more than 15% in January
"We would like to thank Bitmain for their ongoing support and partnership, particularly during a challenging period for both the industry and markets more generally,” Roberts added. “We look forward to continuing our relationship over the long term.”
Iris Energy said the transaction fulfills its stated goal of utilizing its data centers for 5.5 EH/s of self-mining capacity and is expected to deliver substantially higher revenue growth as compared to the alternative of third-party hosting.
It is also considering options for the sale of surplus miners, above 5.5 EH/s of self-mining capacity, to re-invest in growth initiatives and/or corporate purposes, the company added.
Following the transaction, it said its obligations under its existing 10 EH/s contract with Bitmain have been fully resolved, with no remaining commitments. It remains debt free.
It also expects energization of its 600MW site at Childress in the coming months, including the completion of the first 20MW of data center capacity. Approximately $18 million in previous deposits with AEP Texas are expected to be refunded following energization at Childress.
The company said it will release its second-quarter financial results and host a conference call on Wednesday, February 15, 2023, at 5pm Eastern Time. Investors can register for the live webcast here.
Iris Energy is a leading owner and operator of institutional-grade, highly efficient Bitcoin mining data centers powered by 100% renewable energy. The company supports the decarbonization of energy markets and the global Bitcoin network.
Contact the author at stephen.gunnion@proactiveinvestors.com