Today’s announcement of Integra’s (ASX: IGR) merger with Silver Lake (ASX: SLR) along with Alacer (ASX: AQG) emerging from the recent merger of Anatolia Minerals Development, a TSX listed company and Avoca Resources Limited plus Evolution Mining creation in late 2011 to form a mid-tier Australian gold producer through a merger of Catalpa Resources Ltd and Conquest Mining Ltd and the concurrent acquisition of Newcrest Mining’s interests in the Cracow and Mt Rawdon mines; Indicates that we are now seeing a wave of gold mining mergers creating a new class of 400,000 per annum mid-tier Australian gold producers.

Next up and squarely in the firing line are ASX: FML and ASX: RMS. I’m not saying that these two will merge but that they are targets. But it wouldn’t be a stretch to postulate that Alacer (ASX: ACQ) could take out Focus as they have adjacent resources and some outstanding synergies.