New mining venture - consultation sought

[ozoro]

I've been into Bitcoin since 2016, heavily since 2017. Traded largely on LBC and used BTC for remittance and arbitrage. I have zero coding skills. Am an entrepreneurial businessman who believes strongly in 'hard' money and the ethos behind bitcoin in particular and if proven alt coins in general. I am also not adverse to making money with a bit of hard work, honesty and luck.

I have potential VC capital of $300,000 USD and I looking to setup a Bitcoin mining farm. This farm is to be placed in a very inhospitable tropical climate in the middle of the forest but with access to cheap electricity. Will need to set our own internet access and obviously independent power source.

Am looking on setting up such an operation, from construction of bricks and mortar in the most efficient way to disperse heat, the deployment and installation of between 50 to 100 machines.....Antimer S17 or T17 seems a good bet (MicroBT Whatsminer M205 seems a good alternative) - whats with this Innosilison 200= T/h's? - (this a pointer how naïve I am , advice on cabling and connections, advice on software and running the nodes, and all the other things I obviously don't know, I need advice on all these areas.

Free advice on this forum is very welcome but PM me if you can offer professional/semi professional advice for a fee (small fee )

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[WhyFhy]

This farm is to be placed in a very inhospitable tropical climate in the middle of the forest but with access to cheap electricity. Will need to set our own internet access and obviously independent power source.

Dont get ahead of yourself here, You need to deploy infrastructure first By time you've deployed your infrastructure and you have something audit ready there might be a new generation of miners out. (worry about the machines later and focus on consumption averages 2000-3000watts )
If its remote you also need to factor in freight/shipping as it might be a major cost for you.
In US we cant deploy "used" solar systems and tie in , can you where you are? (We can bank used though) Major cost differences in new and used here.
you'll likely need a satellite internet provider.

[ozoro]

@Whyfhy
Thanks for your reply.

Infrastructure shouldn't be  too much a problem, I can relatively easily throw up 1050 sq ft (100m2) high ceiling warehouse, alternatively I can use converted shipping containers. I am locating in African oil fields, with access to electricity generated by 'waste natural gas'. We regularly ship out all sorts of heavy equipment to those fields, shipping in a bunch of computers and building a 'shed' will be in within our normal operations.

Yep, we currently use satellite for our internet access.

I am thinking our major challenge is understanding the technology, no doubt we'll need to employ 2 or 3 operators (at least to start with) - they will need to be available 24/7 I presume. But that can be arranged.

Frankly I think there's a good resource and potential set up waiting to be exploited. BTW our power supply is natively 220V/240V.

[WhyFhy]

Then your off to a good start! Cooling could be a factor but here in TX its not too big of an issue.
But yea deploy infastructure first then look for miners as infrastructure is within 60 days of completion , what you look for now might not be available when you pull the trigger.

[ozoro]

@Whyfhy

Wouldn't I need to have some idea of layout when building the infrastructure? In producing the business plan I will need details of tech...hardware, software...even details of how 'coins' mined will be recorded and sold. My backers are 'oilmen' and have no idea of crypto. The infrastructure is the easy bit.

You say 60 days lead time for the hardware.....am seeing the ability to buy mining hardware seems so difficult, the manufacturers all seem to have the best models sold out, there are seems to be quantity limits on what individual customers can buy at any one time. Other threads on this forum seem to say being on a waiting list is not a good idea as tech changes relatively quickly and all potential estimates can change dramatically with difficulty levels, BTC price movements, etc

I suppose what am asking, is how can put down a real 'factual' business plan (with emphasis on the tech) other than what I've picked in my cursory studies and knowledge.

Ideally would love to be starting to 'mine' within 90 days (especially if am using modified sea containers)

PS
yes. cooling is going to be a major issue, any suggestions, outside temperature regularly hits 30 degrees centigrade. I wonder how Florida and Texas based miners 'cool down' their equipment.

Cheers


Additional question how genuine are the adverts for mining hardware on 'Alibaba'? prices seem too good to be true

[WhyFhy]

It's a speculative venture so you cannot make any guarantee's and I wouldn't.
You can order a ready to go container and likely save on cost. I believe Stryfe at Mopar Mining has one ready to go right now for 20,000 usd but its a storage unit i think.
Ive been working on a decay calculator for about 2 years , this calculator isnt complete yet and factors historical averages on difficulty,rewards, via json scrapers. It will be more accurate then given estimates from current calculators.
You might as well consider about XX% compounded decay on rewards too and consider reinvesing a portion of your operation back in to prevent nulling out.
You can waterwall cooling (swap cooler) its cheap as hell.(not the ones that mist) you can also refrigerate mineral oil on an industrial scale and immerse, but this requires a staff member thats compliant on that aspect(refrigerant ammonia blah blah).
I would step 3p to 30amp PDU's , you can cancel out employers by monitoring/automating sorta like a smart home , so buy pdu's with networking built in for physical resets if ssh hangs.
I remotely consult and can give you draft proposals ive used in the past to give you an idea how to present your investors while covering yourself in liabilities. (Again its a speculational venture)
I consult for flat fee's during deployment , or long term at agree upon operation percentage reduction via MultiSig  (Like 1-15% depending on the operation size and efficiency )

Additional question how genuine are the adverts for mining hardware on 'Alibaba'? prices seem too good to be true

I wouldn't touch it with a 10 foot pole.

[ozoro]

@Whyfhy

Sir,  (I presume you're male, apologies if I have committed a cardinal mistake) you sound like just what am looking for, I will private message you in the next few hours.

thank you for your time and responses

[WhyFhy]

Ill pm you an email you can reach me at.

[Steamtyme]

You guys have covered a lot of the important parts. I'll just chime in with a few things.

30C for temps is not bad, it's well within the specs of most miners out there. If by regularly you mean it will hit and hold 30 for a couple weeks you would likely want to use more intake and exhaust fans for your build. Unless you are tipping the thermometer above 40C consistently you won't need to use any other cooling methods that will eat into your profits, you can also use LP modes if available for your gear on these days.

How remote is this mine going to be? If this is say on a plantsite where you are located it really just needs to be a building with the ability to run a wall down the middle with intake fans on the 1 side and exhaust fans on the other, the miners fit into holes in the wall. This creates your hot/cold aisle for your mine. Build it with 100 in mind even if you only go with 50 this way you can add to it if the opportunity presents itself. Look up hot aisle/cold aisle in data centers for a good idea of what I described.

Just a note floorspace wise you can put 100 miners in a 25' row stacked 5 high using shelving. With the proper airflow the miners do just fine being bunched in close quarters; it's the air moving through the machine that matters.


Specking in your power requirements are going to be a bit harder and will be something you need to weigh and consider. I've never built a facility, but the requirements between 50 and 100 machine is drastically different, and varies even more so depending on what you buy. You are looking at a requirement of 55KW to 330KW   with hashrates from 700TH to 6.5 PH . This is a range from s9's to M20S machines. I give you a range like that so you can consider what is cost effective for your situation. If your electricity is cheap enough you don't need the most efficient miners you can go with older gen gear and still turn a profit, or a mix.

I am guessing you have some industrial resources at your disposal so you may already know where to source the equipment and get power installed to the location. This can vary a lot and can dictate what is available to you, again if the price isn't a massive difference you may want to size it larger so you can handle the more powerful current gen miners. It comes down to risk/reward and your vision for your business.

I will note that you are getting into a risky venture and rewards aren't guaranteed. Next year does bring a halving event as well, which can put your facility in flux. If you are serious move as fast as you can to get things in place. Every day costs you 1 day of lower difficulty mining.

This might help.

Current List of Competitive Hardware - July 2019 Has listed distributors and manufacturers of gear.

[PassThePopcorn]

I can easily tell you for under 1k miners you don't need more than 3 people for 24/7. You need 1-2 people if you want 7 day coverage but the cost for people might not be worth it. Most of the time not many problems happen, lots of time spent sitting around idle so if you do want to hire people make sure they do other things as well. 1 person can easily manage a few thousand machines after they are setup and running. (it's mostly the setup that needs people)

[WhyFhy]

I agree but at a 300k budget I think he could wing it remotely after some initial smoothing over at first.

[ozoro]

@steamtyme,
thank you very much for your detailed response.
I will study the cold aisle/hot aisle you've mentioned. The temperatures will regularly top 35°C and it's  humid with heavy downpours.
am looking to start ASAP ...the halving is scary, but hopefully it will eventually result in higher prices.

thanks for the list.

Cheers

[philipma1957]

Buy 20 or more  m20s. They come in November.

They cost about 54000 plus shipping for 20 of them.

You can set up a cooling plan along with a building.

You need a generator since you are burning free fuel.

20 m20s use 67 to 70 kwatts.

If you have a 100kwatts generator it should cover that.


If you use a container.

Put it on six foot stilts.

Draw air from the floor as air is shaded.

Blow air out high in the container

Or put a small peak A shaped  roof on container to shade it.

It is important to have containers on stilts

AIDS in cooling and prevents floods.

I would stagger the build.

Add 20 m20s at a time since it gives you some safety for loss or delay of shipments.

Maybe two containers with two generators
Set them two to three months apart.

Stuff breaks
Stuff breaks.

If you buy m20s buy some spare parts.

I own

S17
T17
S15
T15
M20s
M21s
M10
S9

I have spare parts for the gear above.

I have
Avalon a1041
Avalon a921
Avalon a721
No spare parts from them they tend to not break

I have

Inno t3t39th
Inno t2t24th
Inno t3t50th

No spare parts but gear is clocked low.

[ozoro]

Fantastic information, you guys are brilliant!!

[WhyFhy]

[...]

Im out of merit!!!!!! Get this man some merit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[BitcoinRefiner]

I'm developing projects in South Africa and Senegal at the moment. Africa's a great and untapped region.

You are welcome to get in touch if you want to compare notes.

I can't message you with my contact information as you have PM's from newbie's disabled and I'm not very active on here.

Either way, I'm sure you'll succeed and there is no shortage of information and friendly people here to offer advice.

If your energy rates are similar to the ones I've seen in Africa, most concerns discussed can be mitigated by throwing money at it. The critical factor is that you are familiar with business in the region and it sounds like you are.

Throw me a PM with some contact details if you'd like to talk.

[NotFuzzyWarm]

Energy rates are not an issue for the OP as they are using normally flared waste gas to power on-site generators. Of course the generators should be rated for Prime-power usage so they can 24x7 run for months between scheduled maint.

[ozoro]

Thank you sooo much everybody for very useful comments, I will PM those who have asked me to reach out to them. Am a newbie on this forum, so am just learning about 'merits', I'll be dishing them out if my newbie status allows.

I welcome more comments and advice.

Cheers everybody


@bitcoinrefiner......please reach me ozoro99atgmail

Cheers

[philipma1957]

Thank you sooo much everybody for very useful comments, I will PM those who have asked me to reach out to them. Am a newbie on this forum, so am just learning about 'merits', I'll be dishing them out if my newbie status allows.

I welcome more comments and advice.

Cheers everybody

I gave you 2 merits. Should take you out of newbie status more quickly.

You have a merit to give. Try to find a newbie that looks good and give him a merit.

It will help him out like I helped you out.

[Steamtyme]

@steamtyme,
thank you very much for your detailed response.
I will study the cold aisle/hot aisle you've mentioned. The temperatures will regularly top 35°C and it's  humid with heavy downpours.
am looking to start ASAP ...the halving is scary, but hopefully it will eventually result in higher prices.
thanks for the list.
Cheers

Glad it was useful, Phil filled in great advice considering your area might be prone to flash floods not sure if your in the high ground or not. Either way raising things up is the way to go, nobody wants a wet mine. I second the other part as well, for new gear anyways. As soon as you are committed and moving forward place a pre-order for the gear as most gear won't ship until November. This way you can also watch the market for used gear if you go that route. Feel free to PM me if you have questions I'll do my best to help if I can.


This is off-topic. Hopefully you stick around the forum, it's always nice to see new people coming in here. You might have sorted it but a couple posts on the first page your replies are within the quote - to fix that just be sure to start typing after the [/quote]. I reformatted it in the quote above if that makes sense.