South Africa's AngloGold on Monday said Ashanti Goldfields' top shareholder agreed to support its $1,1-billion acquisition of the African mining company, but the transaction's fate still rests with the government of Ghana.

The merger, which was formally unveiled on Monday after being publicly proposed in May would, if approved, bring AngloGold neck-and-neck with rival Newmont Mining Corp as the world's top gold producer, and bolster the company's long-term reserves by more than 30 percent.

That reality moved one step closer on Monday when Lonmin Plc, a 27.6 percent stakeholder in Ashanti, pledged to vote in favor of the transaction, which would pay Ashanti shareholders 0.26 AngloGold share for each share they own.

Ashanti's board has also approved the deal, but the companies now must await a ruling from the Ghana government, which owns a 17 percent stake in Ashanti as well as a golden share giving it the ability to veto a takeover of the company.

"We remain very optimistic that we are the right partner and the government of Ghana is going to come to that view," said Bobby Godsell, AngloGold's chief executive officer, in an interview. "Nothing in our talks with the government has caused us to have anything but a very positive view of the deal and a very optimistic view about its outcome." Godsell said they expect Ghana to complete its review of the transaction by mid-September. The government initially said it expected its review to be completed by the end of June, but there has been no announcement since that time.

Ghana officials have pressed AngloGold to improve its offer, which valued Ashanti at $8.36 per share based on Friday's closing prices, a source told Reuters last week. Ashanti's U.S.-listed shares closed at $8.12 on Monday.

Godsell declined to comment on the specifics of the negotiations.

Combined, AngloGold and Ashanti produce about 7.3 million ounces of gold annually - a level matched only by Newmont.

The two company's would also boast the world's largest proven gold reserves at 93.2 million ounces, a figure that could climb even further as AngloGold brings its deep mining technology to Ashanti's mines.

"If you have reserve strength, you really are in a position to be in a dominant position going forward," Godsell said. "Probably the single central challenge in the gold mining industry is to find minable answers three to six years down the road.

"They bring a number of long-life mines with lots of reserves for the future." Once completed, AngloGold projects the transaction would add to its earnings per share, excluding unrealized non-hedge derivatives. The exact increase is dependent on where the gold market is when the deal closes, the company said.

The transaction is also expected to generate synergies of $15 million per year before transaction expenses.

AngloGold shareholders would own 87 percent of the combined company, and the company's board has agreed to recommend a name change to AngloGold Ashanti Ltd should the deal be completed. AngloGold's top shareholder, Anglo American Plc has agreed to support the name change