A modern mining disaster: Bitcoin facility goes up in flames

Modern mining for precious commodities has gone digital, and with that comes what may be the first big digital mining disaster. A Bitcoin mining facility in Thailand recently went up in flames, with three buildings burning to disastrous proportions, taking the servers with them. The mining facility is said to belong to Cowboyminers, and reportedly the hardware was not insured, making it look unlikely it’ll be back up and running any time soon. According to Spondoolies-Tech, which made the hardware, the data center’s wiring wasn’t up to code.

It seems the fire itself happened back on October 14, and that since then it has been discussed heavily over on the BitcoinTalk forums, where images of the blaze were posted and both companies — Spondoolies-Tech and Cowboyminers — have chimed in on the disaster. The information is scattered, and it isn’t entirely clear what caused the blaze.

Though Spondoolies-Tech stated on the forum that the data center’s wiring didn’t meet US electric code standards, Cowboyminers posted saying that wiring was not the cause:

it was NO overload on any cables or transformers. We Had 200% margins on the cables, No cheap or quick job. No density or heat problems. All sp30 and other miners where running cool and fine. No fire has started by the miners for sure, or any electrical problem in the setup.

Ultimately, the fire’s cause is unknown, and will perhaps remain so. Any number of things could have gone wrong, and at this point it serves as a big example to other Bitcoin mining facilities: make sure everything is up to snuff or risk disastrous consequences.

VIA: Gizmodo