Argo Blockchain PLC (LSE:ARB, OTCQX:ARBKF, NASDAQ:ARBK, ETR:0XP) said cryptocurrency mining will begin next week at its new Helios mining facility as it is now connected up to the electricity grid.
An inauguration ceremony will take place today at the facility in Dickens County, Texas, the company said, after the site was energised with 200 megawatts (MW) of power.
Chief executive Peter Wall said: “We started construction on the facility in July 2021 and it is a tremendous achievement that the site will commence mining operations in less than 12 months.”
The first batches of 20,000 Bitmain S19J Pro mining machines have started to be delivered and installed, which is expected to continue until October.
Installation has also begun of the identical Bitmain mining machines obtained via a swap agreement with Core Scientific, which is anticipated to continue until July.
Phase 1 of the Helios development is expected to increase Argo's mining hashrate by 243% to an anticipated 5.5 exahash per second (EH/s) by the end of 2022 as more machines are added. Last year, the company’s capacity was increased to 1.6 EH/s from 0.6 EH/s.
With the aim of lifting this to more than 20 EH/s in coming years, Helios has agreed access to up to an additional 600 MW of power capacity as it is needed for further phases of development.
The company said the life of mining machines at Helios is anticipated to be longer than normal as the site has been designed for immersion-cooled mining operations, reducing machine exposure to dust and debris.
“The opening of Helios marks an important step for the company, as we continue to implement new, ground-breaking technology, significantly upscale our operations and continue to strengthen infrastructure. Our work to achieve sustainable growth for Argo continues," said Wall.