Belorussian President Alexander Lukashenko has chosen on the government to mine cryptocurrency use spare power infrastructure.

Lukashenko spoke at the opening of the Petrikovsky mining and processing institute on Aug. 27, urging workers to move into crypto mining in Belarus instead of pursuing low-paying farming positions abroad, Russian news agency RBC reported.

The president said that Belarus has enough electricity resources to power cryptocurrency mining, pointing to abandoned industrial sites that could be used to generate acquirement. Lukashenko stated:

"We must understand, they are not waiting for u.s.a. anywhere [...] Build something based on electricity. Afterwards all, outset mining cryptocurrencies or whatsoever information technology's called. There is plenty electricity in the country."

The Petrikovsky plant is officially the largest investment project of state-owned Belaruskali, one of the world's biggest producers of potash fertilizers, reportedly accounting for 20% of global supply as of 2022. The sole Belarusian potash exporter, Belaruskali was sanctioned by the Us authorities in mid-August, amongst other punitive measures against President Lukashenko.

Related: New project aims to bring global crypto miners to Russia

Lukashenko'southward latest call for crypto mining follows multiple efforts of the Belarusian government to move into the growing cryptocurrency mining industry. In February, the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Belarus said that it was investigating the risks and benefits of crypto mining for a potential motion into the sector. In April 2022, Lukashenko proposed to deploy excess energy from the state's first nuclear power plant to mine cryptocurrencies and sell them.