Some people might assume such an operation would be more at home in Silicon Valley. Why build one in a northern New Brunswick community of fewer than 1,000 people? 

According to Kilic, the decision came down to four factors: a favourable tax rate, stable government, access to affordable electricity, and most important, the temperature. 

"If you want to talk about optimal environments, well, Saint-André is optimal, and we love it here," Kilic said. "We've got cool, dry temperatures." 

Hive has two warehouses full of bitcoin miners in operation, with a third being completed. A forth warehouse, on the right, is expected to be completed in the spring of 2022. (Shane Fowler/CBC News)

Each exterior wall of the warehouses features massive slats that allow cool outside air to drift inside.

That air wafts through a wall of filter paper that runs the entire length of the building. The cold filtered air then flows directly into the mining computers, cooling them.

Once that air is heated by the computer processors, it's pushed toward the centre of the building by the fans built into each miner. It then exits through the roof of the building. It's all done without ductwork or fans, other than the ones built into each computer. 

"We've got a beautiful passive design," Kilic said. "A very novel design where we use the cool, dry climate without having to have air conditioning." 

With thousands of computers running non-stop, the heat that is generated is tropical, even to Saint-André Mayor Marcel Levesque, who has toured the plant.

"It's crazy, it's crazy," said Levesque. "You never imagine seeing so many computers in a building. Never." 

Vancouver-based Hive Blockchain Technologies employs 70 people from the Saint-André area as it constructs its bitcoin mining plant. Once completed, the operation will provide about 20 full-time positions. (Shane Fowler/CBC News)

Air conditioning would also contribute to the astronomical amount of power being used. According to Kilic,the mining operation will eventually consume about the same amount of electricity used to power more than 7,000 homes.  

"In total, the four-building campus will be 70 megawatts when it's complete," said Kilic.

Being in an area near where electricity is generated — at the Grand Falls, Tobique Narrows and Sisson dams — also factored into the decision to build in Saint-André. It's also near where N.B. Power transmission lines intersect, ensuring plenty of electricity for the power-hungry plant. 

A few new jobs

Currently, Hive employs about 70 people. Most are from the Saint-André and Grand Falls area, and are involved in construction. When it's completed, Kilic expects the operation will employ 20 people, who will work mostly to maintain the miners and for security. 

They includes Luc Ouellette from Grand Falls, who said that even though he's worked at Hive for nearly two years, his friends and family still have a hard time understanding what he does for a living. 

Luc Ouellette, Hive’s regional director in New Brunswick, is from nearby Grand Falls. He's been working on the bitcoin mining project for nearly two years. (Shane Fowler/CBC News)

"They don't even know, most of them," said Luc Ouellette, Hive's regional director in New Brunswick. "I tell them what we're doing here, and they really want to visit us and see what's going on. 

"It's a big opportunity for us to work locally with next-generation stuff. Being part of that is great."