Hut 8’s Bitcoin Mining Operations Hampered by Electrical Issues

Hut 8 Mining‘s Drumheller site in Alberta is currently operating at a mere 15% of its installed hashrate capacity due to electrical issues. The company anticipates a restoration time of 10-12 weeks, according to a recent announcement.

This setback comes as Hut 8 is in the process of completing a substantial merger with U.S. Bitcoin Corp, positioning itself for significant growth within the industry. The company initially disclosed the electrical issues at its Drumheller site back in March.

Hut 8 has cited “high energy input levels” as the primary cause of equipment failures at the Drumheller facility. Additionally, the crypto miner has faced headwinds due to surging energy prices. In response to these challenges, the company  working to repair damaged machines and expand its workforce.

The Drumheller mining site is estimated to contribute around 0.9 exahash/second (EH/s) to Hut 8’s total computing power. As of the end of April, the combined installed hashrate at its two Alberta locations was 2.6 EH/s. Meanwhile, the Medicine Hat site reached an all-time operational high of 1.72 EH/s in March.

In addition to the issues at the Drumheller facility, Hut 8 faced another setback in November when it was forced to halt operations for 8,000 miners at its third site in North Bay, Ontario. This resulted from a disagreement with the company’s power provider, prompting a relocation of the miners to Medicine Hat. As of the end of April, Hut 8 has not yet managed to fully operationalize all the relocated miners.