Argo Blockchain brings 500 new mining machines online

Enterprise-scale cryptocurrency mining company Argo Blockchain announced on Monday that 500 new ‘Bitmain S17 Antminer’ machines had been brought onstream in the last week, increasing the total number of machines in production to 7,000.

The London-listed firm said the new machines were part of its strategy to install and operate a total production base of approximately 17,000 machines by the end of the first quarter of 2020 - a more than 140% increase from current levels.

It said the rest of the 10,000 machines required to achieve that target were already on order, and were expected to be delivered in batches from early December.

Argo also reported that, further to its announcement on 28 August, 1,026 S17 Antminers that began production in late May had achieved a 100% payback on their investment.

“Our strategy to make a major investment in new mining hardware this year continues to deliver strong returns,” said executive chairman Mike Edwards.

“We are also confident that the ongoing expansion of our mining infrastructure will deliver returns in line with our expectations and create long-term value for shareholders.”

At 0916 GMT, shares in Argo Blockchain were up 0.73% at 6.89p.