Australian M&A is heating up amongst the early-stage development companies, which could portend bigger deals worldwide, said Peter Akerley, CEO of Erdene Resources.On Friday Akerley recorded Kitco Roundtable podcast with correspondent Paul Harris; editor Neils Christensen; and mining audiences manager, Michael McCrae.Mergers and acquisitions have been muted due to senior miners being conservative. The companies are worried about excesses committed during the last upcycle, which ended up punishing the resource sector. COVID-19 travel restrictions have also made due diligence hard.However, Australian miner Aurelia Metals made news yesterday when it acquired Dargues Gold Mine and assorted assets for about A$205 million. Akerley likes the news."I think the acquisition is important, but I really think it could be a bellwether of change for acquisitions in our industry. Australia is often ahead of the curve, and I do think that things will heat up here in the North American markets and in gold acquisition space," said Akerley. "I see a lot of discussions right now amongst the early stage developers, pre-development companies looking at a merger of equal type of opportunities."Follow our guests: Erdene ResourceNeils Christensen TwitterPaul Harris TwitterMichael McCrae Twitter