The company found optimal conditions in the Latin American country to set an expansion for its operations. The facilities would be operational in early 2022.
The Canadian company Bitfarms Ltd is advancing its plans to build a gigantic bitcoin (BTC) mining center in Argentina, a project it has been working on since October last year. The facility, whose exact location remains unknown, will operate 55,000 mining machines and is shaping up to be one of the firm’s largest farms.
Bitfarms reported that to achieve its goal, it has signed an eight-year power agreement with a local private company that, for the first four years, will secure 210 megawatts of electricity at a price of 0.02-kilowatt-hours.
The company estimates that 210 megawatts of electricity will be helpful to produce about 11,774 bitcoins, equivalent to approximately USD 650 million at the current price of the cryptocurrency (USD 55,000).
The one in Argentina will be the facility with the highest energy supply of the five that the company has. Its Quebec warehouses, Cowansville, Magog, Farnham, St. Hyacinthe, and Sherbrooke, consume about 69 megawatts of electricity. These figures compare to the company’s performance in 2019, a year in which they had less than 20,000 Bitcoin mining equipment.
Cheap energy from Argentina would allow Bitfarm to accomplish a mining routine at a lower cost than those generated at its Canadian facilities. In Québec, during the fourth quarter of 2020, the average price of mining a whole coin was USD 7,500, but the firm believes that, in Argentine territory, it will be able to do so for USD 4,125, with a significant savings of 45%.
Argentina is a Country that Favours Bitcoin Miners in Many Ways
Bitfarms also plans to move a considerable number of its older miners to the new data centre in Argentina. In this regard, he added that, although this equipment is less efficient than the latest generation, “the low cost of electricity and the proven reliability of these miners will prolong their economic life.”
The company’s plan is for the Argentine mining center to start operating in early 2022 and become a significant contributor to the macro target of reaching 8.0 exahash / second by the end of that year.
The favourable climate of the Latin American country will be a great ally throughout the year because it is not necessary the use expensive liquid immersion cooling to keep mining equipment operating optimally.
Based on the climatic conditions mentioned by the company in its statement, it is an assumption that Bitfarm will locate its mining center in the Patagonian region, in the south- away part of the country, the only area of Argentina with a cold and constant climate throughout the year. For three years, the province of Tierra del Fuego shows itself as a potential territory for Bitcoin mining.
The building’s construction will begin soon as the company highlighted that it is in advanced conversations with an engineering services firm responsible for directing the execution of the work.
By: Jenson Nuñez
