Apart from funding the project, Rabotec, a Mine services provider, would bring in expertise, skill sets and equipment to ensure that the Mine was successful.

Professor Richard Kwasi Amankwah, the Vice Chancellor (VC) of the UMaT and Mr. Ali Ibrahim, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Rabotec, jointly signed the MoU at a short ceremony on the campus at Tarkwa in the Western Region.

In his remarks, Prof Amankwah stated: "We had always wanted to build a Mine and three years ago, we made a request to the Minerals Commission to give us a small-scale mining plot.

"They gave us two plots of about 50 acres and for the past two years, we have been doing exploration with support from Minerals Commission but naturally if somebody is helping you, you also need to be independent and help yourself."

He added: "The exploration has indicated that there are some zones of mineralization where when we decide to draw the Mine plan, we should be able to Mine and get some gold but as an institution that works with student's fees, it is difficult to start a Mine with that kind of inflows.

"We are, therefore, happy that Rabotec has come in very strongly to support us.
"I have looked at the document and it's exciting to see that Rabotec has already committed both manpower and other resources to this engagement".

"Prof. Amankwah noted that "with the relationship between the University and Rabotec, when you look at the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 17, it talked about partnership.

"...So, we do not joke in this arena and also for Rabotec that has shown strong faith that they are ready to engage our University to help us move to our next level of development".

Mr. Ali Ibrahim, the CEO of Rabotec, explained that the majority of their workforce came from the UMaT and because they trained these personnel, his firm decided to support them to develop the best skills sets for the job market.

Mr. Daniel Quaye, the Operations Executive of Rabotec, added that the main thing required to get a mine productive was human capital and today 90 per cent of the highest level within the mine came from the UMaT.

"So, we see it as a privilege to come together and then have a straightforward graduates from this institution to enable us steer the affairs of these development for that matter I think it's going to move smoothly," he observed.

He said Rabotec being an established mining services provider, they would bring the knowledge in the industry and tape into what their colleagues have learned at the University to make it a success, adding "We have shared documents and draw the road maps so two months from now, we would have gotten into the Mine development processes".

As part of Rabotec's Corporate Social Responsibility, they also donated a Nissan Pick-up to the UMaT to aid in their administrative duties.