Miner Continental's investors approve sale to China's Zijin

(Reuters) - Canadian miner Continental Gold Inc <CNL.TO> said on Tuesday its shareholders have voted in favor of a C$1.3 billion ($989.19 million) takeover offer from China's Zijin Mining Group Co Ltd <601899.SS> <2899.HK>.

Of the cast votes, 98.63% were in favor of the deal, the company said.

State-backed Zijin aims to secure Continental Gold's flagship Buritica gold project in Colombia.

Buritica's high-grade ore and hearty output estimates make it a coveted project for miners who are waiting to lay their hands on the unexplored mineral riches of Colombia.

Continental Gold had earlier said independent proxy advisory firms Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis urged its shareholders to support the deal.

Subject to obtaining required approvals, the deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2020, Continental said.

(Reporting by Arunima Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)