The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday edition that Kirkland Lake Gold's largest shareholder, Van Eck Associates, affirmed its support for the miner's proposed takeover of Newmarket Gold as a deadline passed for shareholder proxy votes to be cast. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe reports that Kirkland Lake has offered to buy Newmarket in an all-stock transaction valued at about $1-billion. Van Eck manager Joseph Foster said, "We're supportive of the merger." He declined to specify how the fund voted. He said, "It's just creating a very attractive gold vehicle for us." Van Eck owned 19.83 million shares in Kirkland, a 16.88-per-cent interest, as of Sept. 30. It also held 23.07 million shares in Newmarket, or a 12.96-per-cent interest, as of Oct. 26. Kirkland and Newmarket shareholders had a deadline on Wednesday to vote their proxies on the transaction, with results expected on Friday morning. Some observers say the Newmarket takeover offers few cost-cutting or revenue-generating opportunities, given that the miners' assets are in different countries. Some investors argue that Kirkland too hastily rejected three joint offers by Gold Fields and Silver Standard Resources to acquire Kirkland.