Company: ARBK
Filing Date: 2025-04-22
Form Type: 20-F/A
Source: 0001104659-25-037403
Chunk: 23

Company: Argo Blockchain Plc
Filing Date: 2025-04-22
Form: 20-F/A
Chunk 23
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 audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the consolidated financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

<div align='center'>F-2</div>

Critical audit matters Critical audit matters are matters arising from the current period audit of the financial statements that were communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that: (1) relate to accounts or disclosures that are material to the financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. The communication of critical audit matters do not alter in any way our opinion on the financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matters below, in addition to the going concern uncertainty, providing a separate opinion on the critical audit matters or on the accounts or disclosures to which they relate.

| Critical Audit Matter                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         | How our scope addressed this matter                                                                                                                                                                                                                   |
| Carrying value of mining machines (Note 19)The group holds a significant value of mining machines at the year end totaling $51,158k (2022: $65,358k), which is made up of newly acquired machines in the year as well as those in place from prior periods.The machine prices fluctuate based on their hashpower rating and the price of bitcoin.Although the bitcoin price has recovered during the current year, there are numerous factors which indicate a potential impairment under IAS 36. These factors include, but are not limited to: bitcoin halving, power costs, curtailments and machine uptime.Where an impairment indicator exists, management are required to prepare an assessment of the recoverable amount of said machines, being the higher of their fair value less costs to sell and the value in use. The key assumptions and inputs underlying the Value in Use (‘VIU’) calculations, including the cash flow forecasts and discount rates, require significant judgement and estimation by management and therefore this has been assessed as a key audit matter. | ●Reviewing management’s VIU calculations and challenging the key assumptions made, including obtaining both corroborative and contradictory evidence of the key inputs;                                                                               
 ●Evaluating the allocation of relevant costs relating to mining machines and ensuring completeness and reasonableness of the key inputs;                                                                                                              
 ●Ensuring mathematical accuracy of the VIU calculations;                                                                                                                                                                                              
 ●Obtaining evidence of current selling prices of new and used machines in order to assess the recoverable value if the