Argo Blockchain PLC Announces August Operational Update

LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / September 8, 2023 / Argo Blockchain plc, a global leader in cryptocurrency mining (LSE:ARB)(NASDAQ:ARBK), is pleased to provide the following operational update for August 2023.

During the month of August, the Company mined 105 Bitcoin or Bitcoin Equivalents (together, "BTC"), or 3.4 BTC per day. The reduction in BTC mined from July 2023 (4.6 BTC per day) is primarily due to economic curtailment at Helios, which generated significant power credits that the Company expects will more than offset the foregone revenue from the curtailment. Preliminary estimates for power credits accrued in August 2023 indicate that the Company realized negative power costs for its Helios operations.

Mining revenue in August amounted to $2.93 million, a decrease of 24% compared to the prior month (July 2023: $3.87 million). However, we expect a significantly higher mining margin percentage in the month of August due to the estimated power credits.

As of 31 August 2023, the Company held 49 BTC.

During the month of August, the Company installed and energized 900 BlockMiner machines, representing approximately 95 PH/s, at its Quebec facilities. This brings the Company's total hashrate capacity to approximately 2.7 EH/s. The Company expects to receive and deploy the remaining 728 BlockMiners in the coming months.

Participation in Upcoming Investor Conference

Members of the Company's management team will participate in the upcoming H.C. Wainwright Global Investment Conference in New York City on Monday, 11 September 2023.

Grant of Equity Awards

On 6 September 2023, the Company granted 2,071,076 RSUs in aggregate to new employees hired since 1 April 2023. The RSUs vest over a three-year period, with first vesting occurring six months from the effective date of the grants (at which point 6/36^ths vest) and, thereafter, the RSUs vest at a rate of 3/36^th per quarter for the remainder of the vesting period subject to the continued employment of the grantee. The RSUs were granted pursuant to the Company's 2022 Equity Incentive Plan approved by shareholders at the 2022 Annual General Meeting.

The information communicated in this announcement is inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation 596/2014.

Management Commentary

Argo's interim Chief Executive Officer Seif El-Bakly said, "I am excited about the continued deployment of our BlockMiner machines at our Quebec facilities; their installation represents another step in our strategy to strengthen our operations and deliver long term value to our shareholders. Additionally, 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."