Argo Blockchain Plc 6-K, filed Jun 7, 2022
Argo Blockchain Plc (ARBK)
6-K
2022-06-07
For: 2022-06-07
View Original
Added on
April 05, 2026
About this 6-K
Argo Blockchain Plc filed this 6-K on June 7, 2022.
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
_____________________
FORM 6-K
_____________________
REPORT OF FOREIGN PRIVATE ISSUER
PURSUANT TO RULE 13a-16 OR 15d-16
UNDER THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the month of June, 2022
Commission File Number: 001-40816
_____________________
Argo Blockchain plc
(Translation of registrant’s name into English)
_____________________
9th Floor
16 Great Queen Street
London WC2B 5DG
England
(Address of principal executive office)
_____________________
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual
reports under cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F.
Form 20-F
☒
Form
40-F ☐
Indicate
by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper
as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1): ☐
Indicate
by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper
as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(7): ☐
EXHIBIT INDEX
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Exhibit No.
1
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Description
May
2022 Operational Update dated 7 June 2022
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Press
Release
7 June
2022
Argo Blockchain PLC
(“Argo”
or “the Company”)
May 2022 Operational Update
Operational Update
Argo
Blockchain plc, a global leader in cryptocurrency mining (LSE: ARB;
NASDAQ: ARBK), is pleased to provide the following operational
update for May 2022.
During
the month of May, Argo mined 124 Bitcoin or Bitcoin Equivalents
(together, BTC) compared to 166 BTC in April 2022. The reduction in
BTC mined is attributable to several factors:
●
The Bitcoin network
experienced an increase in difficulty, leading to fewer BTC
mined.
●
The Company’s
hashrate on Terra Pool produced substantially lower Bitcoin than in
previous months, primarily due to short-term probabilistic
outcomes. The Company continues to explore all options to optimize
its hashrate across alternative pools.
●
High temperatures
in Texas led to increased energy demand and higher electricity
prices, to which the Company responded by voluntarily curtailing
mining operations and reducing its energy usage at
Helios.
●
The Company faced
some limited instances of unplanned downtime at Helios while
bringing the new facility online.
Based
on daily foreign exchange rates and cryptocurrency prices during
the month, mining revenue in May amounted to £3.07 million
[$3.89 million*] (April 2022: to £5.52 million [$6.83
million*]).
Argo
generated this income at a Bitcoin and Bitcoin Equivalent Mining
Margin of 62% for the month of May (April 2022: 75%). This
reduction in mining margin was driven primarily by lower Bitcoin
price and fewer BTC mined.
As of
May 31 2022, the Company held 2,379 Bitcoin, of which 187 were BTC
Equivalents.
Helios Update
May 2022 marked the official commencement of mining operations at
Helios. During this month, the Company installed 2,500 S19J
Pro machines received as part of the machine swap agreement with
Core Scientific which was announced in March 2022. Additionally,
the Company began receiving and installing the S19J Pro machines
that it purchased from Bitmain, as announced in September 2021,
which increases the Company’s mining fleet by approximately
3,000 machines per month. By the end of May, the Company had
increased its hashrate capacity by 300 PH/s to 1.9 EH/s. Argo
Blockchain is pleased to confirm that the installation of the
20,000 miners purchased from Bitmain is anticipated to be completed
by October 2022.
ePIC Blockchain Technologies Partnership Update
The
Company is also pleased to provide the following update on its
collaboration with ePIC. Argo has executed a purchase agreement for
6,600 custom mining machines, with a right to place additional
orders for up to 23,400 machines. The machines will utilize the
Intel ASIC Blockscale chips, for which the Company previously
signed a supply agreement with Intel (as announced in the
Company’s February 2022 Monthly Operational Update). The
custom machines will be designed to Argo’s specifications to
optimize mining performance and efficiency for use at the Helios
facility, which uses immersion cooling to seek to prolong the life
of the machines and increase operating performance.
“We
have officially commenced mining at our new facility, Helios, ahead
of schedule, bringing to fruition months of hard work and
planning,” said Peter Wall, Chief Executive Officer of Argo.
“The team expected minor issues and downtime as we brought
systems online, but we’ve completed 25% of the machine swap
with Core Scientific and installed an additional 300 PH/s,
increasing our total hashrate capacity to 1.9 EH/s. Moreover,
we’re delighted to continue working with ePIC to develop
custom rigs for use at Helios. We share their passion for
innovation and are always looking at how we can better improve our
operational performance for the benefit of our shareholders. In
making use of the most advanced mining equipment, Argo continues to
cement its position as one of the most innovative, ambitious, and
sustainable cryptocurrency miners.”
“We are proud of our collaboration with Argo,” said Jim
Seto, CEO of ePIC Blockchain. “We have worked closely with
Argo’s technical team on their innovative immersion solution
and with Intel engineers to design an advanced customized Bitcoin
miner with an eye to performance and efficient management of the
mining fleet.”
Non-IFRS Measures
Bitcoin and Bitcoin Equivalent Mining Margin is a financial measure
not defined by IFRS. We believe Bitcoin and Bitcoin Equivalent
Mining Margin has limitations as an analytical tool. In particular,
Bitcoin and Bitcoin Equivalent Mining Margin excludes the
depreciation of mining equipment and so does not reflect the full
cost of our mining operations, and it also excludes the effects of
fluctuations in the value of digital currencies and realized losses
on the sale of digital assets, which affect our IFRS gross profit.
This measure should not be considered as an alternative to gross
margin determined in accordance with IFRS, or other IFRS measures.
This measure is not necessarily comparable to similarly titled
measures used by other companies. As a result, you should not
consider this measure in isolation from, or as a substitute
analysis for, our gross margin as determined in accordance with
IFRS.
The following table shows a reconciliation of gross margin to
Bitcoin and Bitcoin Equivalent Mining Margin, the most directly
comparable IFRS measure, for the months of March 2022 and April
2022.
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Month
Ended 30 April 2022
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Month
Ended 31 May 2022
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||
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£
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$
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£
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$
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Gross (loss)¹
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(12,810,339)
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(17,300,281)
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(11,719,569)
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(14,650,191)
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Gross
Margin
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(253%)
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(253%)
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(377%)
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(377%)
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Depreciation
of mining equipment
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1,295,290
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1,749,281
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2,012,575
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2,515,844
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Charge
in fair value of digital currencies
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14,649,214
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19,783,670
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11,031,576
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13,790,157
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Realized
loss/(gain) on sale of digital currencies
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657,423
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887,846
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601,801
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752,289
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|
|
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Mining Profit
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3,791,588
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5,120,517
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1,926,383
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2,408,099
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Bitcoin
and Bitcoin Equivalent Mining Margin
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75%
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75%
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62%
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62%
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(1) Due
to unfavourable changes in the fair value of Bitcoin and Bitcoin
Equivalents in April 2022 and May 2022 there was a loss on change
in fair value of digital currencies.
*
Dollar values translated from pound sterling into U.S. dollars
using the noon buying rate of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York
as at the applicable dates.
Inside Information and Forward-Looking Statements
This announcement contains inside information and includes
forward-looking statements which reflect the Company's or, as
appropriate, the Directors' current views, interpretations, beliefs
or expectations with respect to the Company's financial
performance, business strategy and plans and objectives of
management for future operations. These statements include
forward-looking statements both with respect to the Company and the
sector and industry in which the Company operates. Statements which
include the words "expects", "intends", "plans", "believes",
"projects", "anticipates", "will", "targets", "aims", "may",
"would", "could", "continue", "estimate", "future", "opportunity",
"potential" or, in each case, their negatives, and similar
statements of a future or forward-looking nature identify
forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements address
matters that involve risks and uncertainties because they relate to
events that may or may not occur in the future. Forward-looking
statements are not guarantees of future performance. Accordingly,
there are or will be important factors that could cause the
Company's actual results, prospects and performance to differ
materially from those indicated in these statements. In addition,
even if the Company's actual results, prospects and performance are
consistent with the forward-looking statements contained in this
document, those results may not be indicative of results in
subsequent periods. These forward-looking statements speak only as
of the date of this announcement. Subject to any obligations under
the Prospectus Regulation Rules, the Market Abuse Regulation, the
Listing Rules and the Disclosure and Transparency Rules and except
as required by the FCA, the London Stock Exchange, the City Code or
applicable law and regulations, the Company undertakes no
obligation publicly to update or review any forward-looking
statement, whether as a result of new information, future
developments or otherwise. For a more complete discussion of
factors that could cause our actual results to differ from those
described in this announcement, please refer to the filings that
Company makes from time to time with the United States Securities
and Exchange Commission and the United Kingdom Financial Conduct
Authority, including the section entitled "Risk Factors" in the
Company's Registration Statement on Form F-1.
For
further information please contact:
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Argo
Blockchain
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Peter
Wall
Chief
Executive
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via Tancredi +44 203 434 2334
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finnCap Ltd
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Corporate
Finance
Jonny Franklin-Adams
Tim Harper
Joint
Corporate Broker
Sunila
de Silva
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+44
207 220 0500
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Tennyson Securities
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Joint
Corporate Broker
Peter Krens
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+44
207 186 9030
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OTC Markets
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Jonathan
Dickson
jonathan@otcmarkets.com
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+44
204 526 4581
+44
7731 815 896
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Tancredi Intelligent Communication
UK
& Europe Media Relations
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Emma Valgimigli
Fabio Galloni-Roversi Monaco
Nasser Al-Sayed
argoblock@tancredigroup.com
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+44 7727 180 873
+44 7888 672 701
+44 7915 033 739
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About Argo:
Argo Blockchain plc is a global leader in cryptocurrency mining
with one of the largest and most efficient operations powered by
clean energy. The Company is headquartered in London, UK and its
shares are listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange
under the ticker: ARB and on the Nasdaq Global Select Market in the
United States under the ticker: ARBK.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the
requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant
has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
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Date: 7
June, 2022
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ARGO BLOCKCHAIN PLC
By:
Name:
Peter Wall
Title:
Chief Executive Officer
Name:
David Zapffe
Title:
General Counsel
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