Ashanti CEO sees Parliament approving AngloGold deal

Ashanti Goldfields said on Wednesday that Ghana's parliament would approve the firm's takeover by South Africa's AngloGold despite opposition threats to derail the deal.

A parliamentary committee recently issued a favourable recommendation on the $1,55-billion takeover of the Ghanaian mining company, and a vote is due later this week or early next week, Ashanti CE Sam Jonah told reporters at the Indaba African mining conference in Cape Town.

"I have no doubt at all that the vote will go in one direction," he said.

AngloGold CE Bobby Godsell, also meeting the reporters, said the deal was evidence of a trend among major gold miners to buy additional output through takeovers because many existing mines are running out of high-quality reserves.

"All of us have declining production profiles going forward ... that was the attraction of Ashanti. They had more ounces than money to develop them," Godsell said.

In late October, Ghana's government agreed to back the purchase by AngloGold, the world's second biggest gold producer, after AngloGold won a bitter takeover battle for the Ghanaian company against smaller rival Randgold Resources.

Ghana's main opposition leader, John Atta Mills, earlier this month vowed to oppose the merger. His National Democratic Congress (NDC) has 90 seats in the 200-member legislature, while the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) has 102.

The remaining deputies, including independents and members of small parties, usually vote with the ruling NPP.

AngloGold plans to pour hundreds of millions of dollars into extending the life of Ashanti's prized Obuasi mine by establishing deep-level operations.

The combined company would have around 7,3-million ounces of annual gold production, the same level as current number one Newmont Mining of the US.

Anglogold, the biggest South African-based gold miner, is 51,49% owned by diversified miner Anglo American.