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LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – Argo Blockchain celebrated the launch of its new mining facility in Dickens County on Thursday, but the facility will be mining bitcoin, not minerals, day by day.
This facility is the result of a partnership with Dickens County, and Argo CEO Peter Wall says it’s a match made in heaven.
“Dickens County is bitcoin mining nirvana,” Wall said.
That’s partly due to the amount of renewable energy supplied by wind turbines in the county. Those turbines will provide energy for the 200-megawatt facility, powering 55,000 machines to mine bitcoin.
Dickens County Judge Kevin Brendle says opening this facility is just the beginning of good things happening for the county.
“There will be many more hours of meetings that we will have to evaluate, to negotiate, to plan, to implement, to debate a number of significant projects that I think are on the way to Dickens County,” Brendle said. “They’re gonna need your support and I’m gonna need your support.”
The economic benefits are already being felt. Argo has created dozens of jobs in opening this facility, with more than half being filled by Dickens County residents.
“That’s like an Amazon or a Toyota coming in, in terms of impact per population,” Wall said.
Brendle also expects the facility to have an immediate impact on the education system.
“The greatest impact will be to our school districts,” Brendle said. “We already have a great community relationship with Argo; they have committed to a community service program. They’re gonna rebuild a swimming pool in Spur, so we’re very happy with them for doing that, and we intend to be able to give greater services to the people of Dickens County.”
The county will also see a contribution through its tax revenue.
“There’s over $200 million of infrastructure already in place in this facility on the grounds here,” Brendle said. “It far exceeds the county budget, so it’ll have a big impact in our county proceeds.”
Bitcoin is a form of cryptocurrency or digital money that is said to be secure and untraceable.
RELATED LINK: What is Bitcoin?
To earn it, “miners” use machines to solve complicated math problems and verify digital transactions. Then the data is exchanged for bitcoin, which can be converted into dollars.
Currently, one bitcoin is worth more than $36,000.
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