Roundtable Discussion; The Future of Mineral Sands. Watch the video here.
I invest in cash cows :) DYOR.
Most welcome @600Thieves.
Correction: ADR price increasing by $1 adds $7m to our coffers. That’s a 10 cent increase in each share, not one cent.
So here are my notes in no particular order. A lot of confusion around ADS and ADRs. ADS is the American Ordinary Shares which are essentially 1:1 our UK listed shares. ADRs are bundled ADS in 10:1 ratio ie 1 ADR is 10 ordinary shares. Even the Argo documents confuse these two terms from time to time. (For ex in one document they state 7.5 m ADSs when they actually mean 7.5m ADRs).
The 2018 incentive scheme as others have pointed out gives up to 10% headroom to award shares (so no real change by blocking the 2021 scheme).
Quite a bit of emphasis on proof of stake and other DEFi projects going forwards (spearheaded by Argo Labs a subsidiary). It looks like Ethereum was being looked at, not sure what they will do given they have barely 2-3 months before it moves to Proof of Stake.
Immersion tech is the solution for the tech issues they faced (lot of failures in the Antminer S17s, which is industry wide not just Argo). This will create much better efficiencies.
On the issue of bitcoin HODL strategy, they state they may participate in bitcoin futures and other strategies to maximise, including trading their coins. So its not just passive HODL.
IPO is described with number scenarios for ex stating every dollar rise in the IPO ADR (10 share bundle) price gives $7m extra (in other words every ordinary share increasing by one cent) into our coffers This led me to think the share price is not yet fixed at £1.33/share and movement from last few days will help us raise a bit more.
There is mention of IPO being offered to public, so presumably this slice is via Robinhood type offer.
Texas is described as 100MW complete in H1, with some degree of confidence. The leased machines for 430PH are due to end contract December 2022. So all in all we are moving towards owning and hosting our own machines, which is the best way to do business.
Last but not the least, NO mention of legal dispute/s with anyone, which is material info and if ongoing should have been disclosed.
I could be wrong on any of above, please DYOR and happy to be corrected as always :) Good luck all. Should be an interesting 6-9 months if one has patience.
https://sec.report/CIK/0001841675
Link to all the SEC documents. Hoping to read through tonight. Thank you to all posters sharing their diligence and view points :)
Amanensia: they have planned 100MW in H1, and 100MW in H2. But it’s a moving feast, so expect different plans :)
On energy consumption, bitcoin being mined in containers remotely is a game changer for green energy adoption. It uses stranded energy in remote uninhabitable locations. It allows energy producers to get more profitable. It allows energy arbitrage, allowing variable consumption/shut down during peaks etc. The real question should be: how much energy is bitcoin stealing/diverting from other consumers? And what effect does a mining op have on energy tariffs? Because let’s face it, the total energy available for harnessing is infinite. The revolution has barely begun.
Proof of stake inevitably results in centralisation, completely against the tenet. Not happening in Bitcoin imho. And ETH likely to lose some hard core believers when it switches. It’s why I m in ETC. It has the same attributes of ETH, but stays POW. Just my two pence. A lot to read and understand, I concede quite a lot of it outside my grasp intellectually :)
Thank you to all posters sharing their efforts. I found this bit of info: about 10.5m shares are to be issued (mostly pre existing options), raising about £3.3m. I think the equity incentive plan 2018 is merely referring to existing options. Could be wrong.
Grayem: so if a solar storm of that proportion hits our beloved earth, frying every electric equipment going, do we think our bitcoin or gold holding will be our main worry? Nice try.
Amanensia: this is a healthy debate to have. The point they make is: the commodity (bitcoin coin or gold) being difficult to “produce” or being incredibly energy intensive, is not a bad attribute. It’s a good attribute. At a very basic level one can’t have something from nothing. Which is what Fiat money supply has become in my eyes.
“If there is an existential threat to Bitcoin, it's power consumption. I don't say this from any judgemental position whatsoever - it just is.”
There are debates about this. Creating money easily, from thin air has brought us to where we are. If money has to have its intrinsic attributes, it needs to produced via a process that has costs. It’s the same with gold our competition. Why has gold got value? Partly because producing it COSTS. Its energy intensive.
Gold production is dirty, energy intensive, destroys any number of pristine landscapes. The waste from gold mining (tailings) in many instances wrecks havoc on the environment, decades after the gold is mined. Wafi Golpu for ex intended to dump tailings into the ocean. Nearly a third of all gold mined is artisanal, ie uses heavy metal, destroys water bodies, affects the health of labour; creates dissocial cultures where it operates (arms, prostitution drugs, child labour etc).
Every ounce of gold produced: add in the above costs. Add the cost of mine closure, remedial work to the environment. Add in the ONGOING costs of storing gold. Protecting it. That’s the TRUE cost per ounce. Ditto for the USD and any other Fiat.
Exactly what does bitcoin cost, to hold, to transact? After it’s produced. Rhetorical q.
It’s fascinating that folks who are gold bugs ignore these aspects of the “full cycle costs” for gold. Ditto with nuclear. Full cycle costs are unsustainable imho. Just my musings.
To put it another way, we have a 50% increase in capacity within 4 weeks. And then a further 200% increase in capacity by June 2022. Ie a 350% increase from where we are today.
And a further 65% increase in H2 22. Unless there is staggering dilution, this growth should make investors very pleased with their decision to buy/hold patiently this year.
Blue bay: “The 240-250p valuations assumed Texas completed and BTC at $40k, so if there is concrete news on Texas and machines to fill it then maybe. Similarly if BTC rises.”
If your statement is based on the broker note, I would say this is debatable. Because they make assumptions such as difficulty rate doubling when bitcoin price doubles for ex.
Before Texas, we have a 50% increase in capacity by mid Oct ie in next 4 weeks. Secondly Texas sees 3EH added in H1 (obviously IF things go to plan). 3EH build out is costed at $50m in the prospectus (with next 3EH costing $30m). So $80m for the facility. This cash estimate does not include the machines to populate facility.
So if built to plan, we should have a circa 4.5EH mining hashrate by June 2022. And a 7.5EH capacity by end of year 2022. Impossible to assess how much of this is/will be priced in before it happens. But I reckon it will be higher than £2.40. Even with the dilution needed. Just my musings.
Hex: thank you. I will go through the whole document over the weekend. It looks like there are plenty of little nuggets of info.
Hex: what page was the 2018 incentive plan on? Any idea?
“As of August 16, 2021, to our knowledge, 9,309 U.S. record holders held 27.46% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares.” This was a pleasant surprise.
Hex: yes it might not cover all “costs”. Almost impossible to get a fixed “cost bitcoin” price given many moving parts including total network hashrate, difficulty adjustments etc. They do state that machines become free essentially faster than their set depreciation rate (which I recollect was 36 months?). But between the bitcoin mining margin (81% average for H1 21) and the average cost, one gets a good idea of costs. Indeed the efficiency is set to improve further, given we will own facilities, get cheap abundant energy (I believe we will tap into solar too) and overclock the miners using immersion. In a rising bitcoin market, all miners will rise. But if/when the tide turns, being diversified and ability to run a super efficient op will prove to be the edge over others. That’s just my view point.
Don’t believe anything anyone says. Positive or negative. Verify for yourself. Always.
For ex: I m saying the “average direct cost per bitcoin or bitcoin equivalent mined” was £6350 in H1 2021. It’s on page 73 of the prospectus.
We will be standing when all other bitcoin miners have fallen. We are built with a bear market in mind. And our stated intent is diversification away from being a bitcoin pureplay. It’s my belief that this will attract capital away from other miners at some point. Indeed the institutions loading up is imo an endorsement of this diversification strategy (as also the ESG angle)
“We define the Average Direct Cost per Bitcoin and Bitcoin Equivalent Mined as the total direct costs of mining at both our owned facilities and hosted facilities, divided by total Bitcoin and Bitcoin Equivalent Mined over a given period. For mining at owned facilities, direct mining expenses are inclusive of power costs, facility operations such as employees at the mining facility, and any ancillary costs that are directly associated with the process of mining. For mining at hosted facilities, direct mining expenses are inclusive of the all-in hosting fee that is charged as well as any related service fees. We believe this measure is a useful complement to Bitcoin and Bitcoin Equivalent Mining Margin, as it reflects the average direct cost of each reward earned irrespective of the value of such reward at the time it is earned. Average Direct Cost per Bitcoin and Bitcoin Equivalent Mined is a supplemental measure of our performance that is not required by, or presented in accordance with, IFRS.”
Thank you buysell. I hold a small amount of XBT-BTC in a SIPP. Used to top up monthly until the FCA stepped in (Oct 2020, what timing!!) and decided ordinary investors shouldn’t make money on it, blocked platforms from allowing most people to invest.
Hex: fair enough. I m just a bit unhappy about the news flow and the level of transparency. I get the fact we are going to Nasdaq, there’s probably lots happening that can’t be shared yet. So I hold patiently, certain that value is being created, regardless of share price action or FUD being spread. In any case I didn’t vote. This result was a bit of a surprise. We have barely few weeks to wait before update on the new machines (Atleast 50% increase) and some info on the listing. Good luck all.
Hex/wolfofwarks: so tell me you are perfectly comfortable with the sequence of events. Because I m not. Share price managed down, by creating gaps in news flow. Equity incentive plan that allows upto 76m shares. Shares can be issued below market price (for SARs), or at 100-110% of prevailing price. And with NO restrictions on selling ie no holding period. Given we know how incentivising shares have been flipped previously.
“Share price managed down, by creating gaps in news flow.”: contentious statement? Why not tell us exactly how that £32 m has been deployed towards Core Scientific? What is that cash buying? Because in my maths book it sure isn’t just 430PH. Other miners describe in detail exactly how many machines they are gettibg, even the additional coin numbers they hope to mine. Our forward projections have been dampened, some would wonder intentionally. I hold a big chunk here and I m not stupid enough to talk down my own investment. But questioning events is healthy. It doesn’t matter, I still have full confidence in the future plans. It just feels a little orchestrated. And some big holder didn’t like the music. Fair play. Being quick to adapt is key in the crypto world, so I have no doubt the Argo team will find solutions. In the absence of new equity incentive plans, I wonder if the old one prevails? Does anyone have the old plan?