Bitmain Expands Mining Equipment Repair Program To North America

Chinese crypto mining hardware producer Bitmain has partnered with Core Scientific in order to expand its maintenance training course to North America, the firms said in a press release on 28 May.

According to the announcement, the new collaboration will bring Bitmain’s “Ant Training Academy” certification program, which gives trainees the know-how of repairing their mining equipment, to North America from the fall of this year. Completing the training course also gives trainees the ability to order replacement parts from Bitmain.

Nathaniel Yu, Bitmain’s International Marketing Manager, said in the press release:

“We are confident that through this cooperation, customers will have better access to high-level professional training and certification from ATA to enhance the process of maintaining miners on a global scale.”

By having a North America-based training facility, it would be much easier for local technicians to obtain the valuable certificate. Previously, the training program was available only in Shenzhen, China, which forced trainees to travel to the country and pay up to $2,500 per person for the two week training period. Though the price included translation services to those that needed them, the course was conducted entirely in Chinese.

“Combining the proven ATA curriculum with accredited instructors from Core Scientific, where the white glove approach and strong operational excellence is part of our DNA, ensures attendees will walk away with the mission critical skills they need to operate at the highest level and secure the long term viability of their equipment.”

The training curriculum was established in 2017, and had the goal of teaching customers how to install, operate, and maintain their mining machines. Establishing a training facility in the U.S. could have an important implication for the mining industry there, as replacing a broken part can be done in several hours, while going through the manufacturer warranty process could take months.

The new cooperation could be related to recent reports, which claim that some of Bitmain’s mining equipment has shown a high failure rate. Chinese news media Odaily recently reported that around 30 percent if the Antminer 17 Series have been breaking down only a couple of months after they started operating.