Biden’s Closure of Chinese-Owned Mining Farm Disrupts CleanSpark Acquisition

A mining facility owned by the Chinese-controlled company MineOne, which was ordered to close by U.S. President Joe Biden, was in the process of being sold to CleanSpark. This was reported by CoinDesk.

On May 13, the head of state, following a recommendation from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), prohibited the firm from owning the property due to national security concerns.

The facility is located approximately a mile from Warren Air Force Base, the site of Minuteman III strategic nuclear missiles in Wyoming. The agency deemed that the proximity and use of specific foreign-made mining equipment “facilitate surveillance and espionage.”

On May 9, the American public mining company CleanSpark announced the purchase of operational bitcoin mining facilities in Wyoming with a capacity of 75 MW for $18.75 million.

Giddy up! $CLSK has entered into definitive agreements to acquire 75 MW of #bitcoin mining sites in Wyoming for $18.75 million, expecting to add over 4 EH/s in #hashrate once fully operational.??

This is now the third state in our portfolio of owned-and-operated bitcoin mining… pic.twitter.com/HGn5NnQ2BC

— CleanSpark Inc. (@CleanSpark_Inc) May 9, 2024

CleanSpark planned to close the deal within 45 days. Upon completion, the firm expected to increase its hashrate to 7 EH/s by adding another 55 MW.

It turned out that the data center in question was MineOne. A CleanSpark representative admitted that Biden’s order caused “some concern” regarding the completion of the transaction.

“The order and CFIUS involvement, which we were unaware of until the deal was signed, added an element of surprise to the closing process, but we are addressing these developments to complete it,” he added.

CleanSpark board member Tom Wood noted that as a former senior Navy officer, he “recognizes the potential risks of encroachments on critical defense infrastructure.” He stated that he is familiar with CFIUS procedures and considers them “impartial and not arbitrary.”

“The presence of a CPC-owned data center near a facility like Warren, which houses part of the national intercontinental ballistic missile forces, is a legitimate cause for concern, as noted in the president’s order,” he emphasized.

Back in February, CleanSpark acquired three operational bitcoin mining enterprises in Mississippi with a combined hashrate of 2.4 EH/s for $19.8 million.