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Agree with your sentiments and it would be useful to hear MOG's response, zooropa. Like you,silverwolf, I'm not going to extend my holding further, despite the bargain SP, until permitting for Ombrina Mare is rubber stamped. This phase feels a bit like swimming through treacle, but at least our banker is that MOG is sitting on a minimum of 40 million barrels of oil and a shedload of gas. Regards

Thought MOG may sink further after Monti's resignation earlier this week, but the SP seems to be holding firmly above 10p. I just hope the political situation won't delay license permitting etc Fingers crossed.....

Agree with lots of points made today. My hope for FDI is that it the company maintains it's single focus and brings Liquobong into significant production. If the mine does hit 1 million carats a year, especially with special stones thrown in, then after 2-3 years it could use the revenue raised to develop BK 11 into a second fully operating mine. As you have said, FDI will always have the option to sell any of it's assets to raise capital, but I guess the board's preferred choice is to retain as many prospective mines as possible to guarantee the company has long term prospects. Another point is that by mothballing a significant number of its prospects, supply of rough diamonds will continue to plateau or even fall against increasing demand from emerging economies. De Beers was famous for putting the squeeze on supply when diamond prices slumped. I think your prediction of 5 years for FDI to achieve junior miner status is about right- my biggest concern, though, remains the boards capability to deliver on its promises. If your average is 8p, you've done really well. I'm up at 19p (was 40p at one stage) and I may average down once I know our shares won't be diluted again by more placings. Good weekend all.

P.S. Did you notice a 2 million share buy went through this pm? May be they have a bit of inside info?

I agree with others that the waiting game is frustrating here but the fundamentals of MOG are compelling. To me, once the Italian Senate give MOG the go ahead to start sucking oil from Ombrina Mare, the SP will move to another level. 40 million barrels of the black stuff is worth a lot of money and along with the gas MOG is recovering every day, this makes the company a lower risk than an out and out explorer. Once drilling and therefore much higher revenue adds to the mix, whenever that may be, the share price will climb pretty quickly. Add to the equation the high potential of our Malta prospects and this little company has a really well-balanced portfolio of proven and unproven resources. To be honest, I am heartened by the way the SP has held up considering one director sold over 20 million shares recently. One final thought; I found it interesting our new chairman has negotiated the sale of three of his previous oil companies to bigger players at impressive prices. Has he been drafted in to oversee MOG through the transition from explorer to junior miner, then sell as a prime cash-earner to one of the big boys? This is one of the main reasons I will hold my shares at least for the medium term and 11p or so seems to be a real bargain to me. GLA.

Just to let you know I mailed FDI a week or so ago to have a rant at the unapproved share option deal. I have been a holder here since 40p and tend to view the company along the same lines as Lord Snooty ie a company with world class assets that have been appallingly mismanaged. I have mailed FDI before but received no reply. To my surprise, I opened a mail last night directly from Lucio Genevese who replied at length to the points I made. To paraphrase his response, it is clear most of the previous board were ousted because of pressure from II's (led by Audley Capital I suspect) He has been appointed to turn the company around and stop the freefall towards bankrupcy, hence the immediate mothballing of BK 11, and focus on Botswana. He states that Tim Wilkes is the man to oversee mine development and management, but all other board members have the responsibility to secure funding from banks etc to capitalise the development of Liquobong. He went on to say that he was heavily invested in FDI (I had a right old dig at directors not putting their hands in their pockets) and stated the Audley were currently invested at 27p. He also made the point that the share option target (I had described as pathetic) stood at 85% above the current SP and therefore represented a significant uplift. Finally, he did express confidence that, despite current challenging market conditions, FDI would secure the financial backing needed to progress Botswana. All in all, whilst I still feel the share option deal is woefully unchallenging, I was heartened by the fact that he got back to me and took the trouble to explain the current position. Whilst this company has major hurdles to overcome, we at least have a director on the board who is prepared to communicate with PI's. I also feel the II's should remain committed to FDI given their 27p 'entry point.' Whatever your view, hope that helps.

I have held FDI shares for a couple of years, buying in at 40p. My take on the award of share options to directors is that I believe this is a slap in the face for PI's. In essence, the board of Firestone has overseen the collapse of the SP from around £2 to under 4p. During that time, the board has squandered millions of pounds of our money on badly managed exploration projects and director's salaries. IMO, they made a huge mistake by trying to bring more than one mine into operation and the company has developed a bad reputation for breaking its promises. I want to see the board buying shares from their own pockets, not being awarded millions of shares when the SP hits a lowly 8p. With billions of pounds worth of diamonds in FDI's portfolio, do we really think that a target of 8p is a realistic incentive? Had the option target been set at £1, now that would say some to me as an investor. Until members of this board commit to the company by investing some of their salaries (paid by us) by buying shares like the rest of us, my confidence in FDI directors will continue at rock bottom. I am in here for the long haul as I have little choice now, but this company ranks bottom of my portfolio and needs to get a grip.