LONDON, UK: Argo Blockchain plc, a global leader in cryptocurrency mining, announced on Monday that it has agreed to sell its Quebec data center in Mirabel, Quebec, for $6.1 million. The deal is expected to close by the end of March 2024, subject to regulatory approvals and other conditions.

The sale will help Argo reduce its debt by $5.4 million and its non-mining operating expenses by $0.7 million annually. The company will also retain ownership of all its mining machines at the Mirabel facility, which it plans to relocate to its Baie Comeau facility and sell some of the older ones. Argo’s total hashrate capacity, a measure of its mining power, will remain at 2.7 EH/s.

Argo’s CEO, Thomas Chippas, said that the transaction demonstrates the company’s commitment to strengthening its balance sheet and streamlining its operations. He added that the company was able to exit the Mirabel facility with a high multiple on its power capacity and a premium on its real estate asset, while maintaining a strong hashrate capacity.

In February 2024, Argo mined 92 Bitcoin, or 3.2 Bitcoin per day, a 21% decrease from the previous month. The company attributed the drop to a maintenance-related outage at a third-party substation and a higher network difficulty. Argo’s mining revenue in February was $4.5 million, a 15% decrease from January. As of 29 February 2024, the company held digital assets worth 14 Bitcoin.

Argo CEO Thomas Chippas said, “Despite the decrease in Bitcoin production due to maintenance on the Cottonwood substation, we expect that our realized power prices at Helios for February will be significantly lower than normal due to favorable power market conditions. Lower power prices will have a beneficial impact to our mining profit, mining margin, and operating cash flow for the month.”