Argo Blockchain PLC on Friday reported a reduction in bitcoin mined during August, which it attributed to economic curtailment at its mine in Texas.

In August, the London-headquartered cryptocurrency mining company mined 105 bitcoin or bitcoin equivalents, or 3.4 BTC per day. This compared to 4.6 BTC per day mined in July.

Argo attributed the decline to economic curtailment at Helios, which it said generated significant power credits that the it expects will ‘more than offset’ the foregone revenue from the curtailment.

Helios is a 125,000 square foot Bitcoin mining facility with 180 megawatts of power capacity. It was designed and constructed by Argo, and mining operations began in May 2022.

Preliminary estimates for power credits accrued in August indicate that the company realised negative power costs for its Helios operations.

Mining revenue in August amounted to $2.9 million, down 24% compared to $3.9 million in July. However, Argo emphasised that it expects a significantly higher mining margin percentage in the month of August due to the estimated power credits.

‘I want to emphasize the importance of our ability to serve as a flexible load in Texas during record-setting levels of electricity demand in August. The curtailment of our operations at Helios helped to reduce stress on the Texas power grid and provided significant economic benefits to Argo. This additional source of value from economic curtailment is especially important to our shareholders during periods of low Bitcoin prices,’ said Interim Chief executive Officer Seif El-Bakly.

Argo Blockchain shares were trading 1.5% higher at 8.75 pence each in London on Friday afternoon.

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