Aluminum Plant Abandons Equipment for Cheap Power, Bitdeer and Riot Blockchain Rush to Mine in Texas Town

Bitdeer, a mining company spun off from Chinese mining giant Bitmain, and the U.S. Nasdaq-listed Bitcoin mining company Riot Blockchain have both established and operated data centers in a defunct aluminum smelting plant in the small town of Rockdale, Texas.

This abandoned aluminum smelting plant was originally owned by the American Aluminum Company and was once the world's largest aluminum smelting facility. After the closure of the plant by the American Aluminum Company in 2008, the equipment on-site was abandoned until a Bitcoin mining company moved in and reactivated it.

With a population of only 5,600, Rockdale, in Texas, is extremely friendly to cryptocurrency, coupled with vast land and inexpensive electricity, making it the most suitable place for Bitcoin miners to thrive.

Mayor John King of Rockdale views the cooperation between the local power grid operator, the Texas Public Utility Commission, and the miners as mutually beneficial. He emphasizes that miners can consume electricity that would otherwise be wasted, and if power is needed elsewhere, they can shut down operations immediately.

Riot Blockchain has more than doubled its Bitcoin production this year, estimating that over 500 Bitcoins can be mined monthly from the facilities in Rockdale. At current prices, these Bitcoins can generate revenue of $30 million. Riot Blockchain owns 100,000 mining machines in this aluminum smelting plant.

Texas lawmakers are pushing to further expand the scale of Bitcoin mining in the state, with Senator Ted Cruz describing mining as a way to recycle the state's natural gas. He says that mining Bitcoin in this way is extremely beneficial for the environment because it allows excess natural gas to be put into production rather than being released into the environment, causing pollution.

This article is authorized and reproduced from Horizon News Network.