The Buzz
LATITUDE
MINE YOUR BITCOIN HERE You can’t hold bitcoin in your hand like a nugget of gold, but the digital currency is being mined around the world by computer-savvy entrepreneurs looking to cash in on the cryptocurrency boom. What exactly does mining mean, in this context? It’s a process of verifying bitcoin transactions and adding them to the public ledger, or block chain. A growing number of Bitcoin miners are coming to Alberta to operate their computer-based businesses, thanks to the cheap electricity that makes it possible to put more computing power into their efforts. They’re being joined by some Alberta energy companies in Alberta who’ve chosen to expand into cryptocurrency, like oil and gas explorer Iron Bridge Resources Inc. It recently announced plans to create a cryptocurrency mining division in northern Alberta.
BALZAC GET A MALL THAT PUTS SOME SMALL IN BIG You’ve heard of big-box stores and the malls that welcome them. Well, the one almost ready for tenants near Balzac, north of Calgary, is more like a small-box mall. It is the yin to a neighbouring yang, Cross Iron Mills, which is renowned for its big-box outlet stores. The $200-million, New Horizon Mall was nearly four years in the making, and it will welcome its first customers this summer. Located along the QE II Highway just north of Calgary, New Horizon will feature 500 shops—that’s about twice as many as a typical city mall—a food court with 26 restaurants, and a main stage for multicultural entertainment. It will create as many as 1,400 jobs.
NEW HORIZON IN THE MAKING An emphasis on smaller shops will set New Horizon apart from many of its peers. The mall is set to open this summer. -photo courtesy dHzMedia
42 | PEG SPRING 2018
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