The ongoing merger between the gold mining industries big players, Newcrest and Lihir, has reportedly sparked its first repeat with two smaller miners, Bendigo and BCD Resources (Beaconsfield) expected to reveal wedding plans shortly.

Media reports yesterday afternoon said small Melbourne-based miners, Bendigo Mining and BCD Resources, were talking merger after both went into trading halts earlier in the day.

The report said the merger would create a middle-ranked miner with operations in Victoria and Tasmania.

At current prices, Bendigo has a market cap of $102 million and BCD $42 million.

If a merger happens, the new company would own the Kangaroo Flat gold mine at Bendigo (Bendigo Mining), the Henty mine in Tasmania (Bendigo Mining) and the Beaconsfield mine in Tasmania (BCD).

Combined annual gold production will be about 160,000 ounces. Bendigo Mining is marginally bigger in terms of annual production (90,000 ounces).

The Beaconsfield gold mine is best known for the Anzac Day rockfall in 2006 in which one miner was killed one miner and two others trapped for two weeks a kilometre underground.

The takeover talk escalated following news that its biggest shareholder( with 22%) Malaysia Smelting Corporation Berhad, could be a willing seller so it could focus on its core business of tin mining and smelting.

Bendigo shares traded last at 20c, BCD at 10c.

PS: Newcrest produces its production report today for the June quarter and 2009-10.

Elsewhere WA gold and nickel miner, Independence Group NL, says pre-tax profit for 2009-10 will be up more than 50%, due to higher nickel prices in the latest year.

The company told the ASX yesterday that earnings before tax for the 12 months to June were $39 million compared with $25 million the year before, said in a statement on Wednesday.

Revenue would rise to $115 million from $101 million.

The company said in the statement that. "The average nickel price during the previous corresponding period was considerably lower than the average nickel price during the June 2010 full year period.

"The Company also wrote down the value of listed investments in the year ending 30 June 2009 which resulted in a significant decrease in profit in that year.

"As a result, the estimated profit for the year ending 30 June 2010 is significantly higher than in the previous corresponding period."

Independence didn't give a net profit estimate, saying auditing and tax calculations were yet to be completed.

Independence said it would release its results by August 31.

Independent shares fell 12c to $5.35, a fall of 2.2%.