Bitcoin (BTC) miner CleanSpark is expanding operations in the state of Georgia, adding to its mining capacity despite the ongoing bear market. 

Groundbreaking on a new 50-megawatt Bitcoin mining facility in Washington, Georgia, is underway, with expected completion in late spring, CleanSpark disclosed on Jan. 19. The nearly $16 million expansion is expected to increase the company’s hashrate by 2.2 exahashes per second, with total hashrate reaching as high as 8.7 EH/s.

The expanded facility will host up to 16,000 miners, including newly added Antminer S19j Pro and Antminer S19 XP models.

CleanSpark purchased its Georgia site in August before acquiring local mining facility Mawson Infrastructure Group the following month for $33 million. At the time, the company said it planned to support a mining fleet of up to 70,000 units in 2023.