Bitfarms estimates Argentine facility will reduce BTC mining costs by 45%

Canadian Bitcoin mining firm Bitfarms has updated its plans for expansion in South America, revealing it has secured an eight-year contract to draw up to 210 megawatts, or MW, of electricity for $0.022 per kilowatt-hour, or kWh.

According to an April 19 announcement, Bitfarms has made significant progress in solidifying the terms for its Argentine operation since first signing a non-binding memorandum to build a 60 MW power plant in October 2020.

In addition to expanding securing a 250% increase in power capacity and agreeing to a 10% increase in electricity pricing, Bitfarms revealed it is in advanced discussions with a local construction firm and engineering provider to begin building a mining facility in close proximity to its partner power plant, and is currently aiming to have begun mining Bitcoin at the facility in early 2022.

In early March, Bitfarms ordered 48,000 new-generation Bitcoin miners from MicroBT, with the recent announcement noting that “a substantial portion” of the inventory is earmarked for deployment at the new facility.

Bitfarms estimates it would have been able to mine Bitcoin for just $4,125 per BTC in Argentina during Q4 2020, comprising a roughly 45% saving over its Quebec facility — which can generate BTC for roughly $7,500 each.

The reduced production costs will also allow Bitfarms to extend the economic life of many older mining units, noting that a significant portion of its older mining hardware will be relocated to Argentina once the new facility is operational.

Bitfarms describes the facility as offering “geographic production diversification to reduce risk and serve as an effective hedge for Bitfarms against the next halving event in 2024.”

Earlier this month, Bitfarms revealed it will deploy 3,496 new miners between April and July of this year, increasing its operational hash rate to 280 pentahashes per second.

The firm also noted it is adding 7.5 Bitcoin to its reserves daily, currently holding 650 Bitcoin worth $41 million and predicting its inventory will hold 1000 BTC within the coming seven weeks.