Argo Blockchain lowers its overall debt by $41 million by selling its flagship Helios mining operation and obtaining a $35 million loan from Galaxy.
On December 28, Argo Blockchain CEO Peter Wall formally announced an agreement to sell the Helios facility for $65 million to Mike Novogratz’s cryptocurrency investment company Galaxy Digital. Argo has already started cashing out its Bitcoin mined to Galaxy in order to lower the loan.
Argo will also receive a new $35 million equipment finance loan from Galaxy to aid in the ailing miner’s debt reduction. In a new Galaxy loan, “We’ve used the proceeds of that transaction to pay off the debt that we owed to NYDIG and a little amount to another secured lender,” Wall said.
The new deals are intended to lower Argo’s overall debt by $41 million, increase liquidity, and enhance operating structure, all of which will enable the company to continue its mining operations, according to the CEO.
The company has not sold any of its mining equipment, the CEO noted, despite Argo selling Helios. Wall stated that those will continue to mine at the Helios site and that Argo had also secured a contract to continue using their mining equipment there. He declared:
“Staying at Helios will also allow us to continue to access power through the Texas grid and participate in the ancillary services, which are provided by Ercot.”
The agreement is made barely six months after Argo’s formal May 2022 launch of Helios. The largest Argo mining operation, the Helios facility, is situated in Dickens County and can produce 200 MW of power. Comparatively, Baie Comeau, another Argo facility, runs at about 15 MW.
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