Dan Blankenship, who shares ownership of the island, confirmed that drilling had resumed for a short time recently.

 "We've already done some exploratory drilling," he said. "We began sometime in February on a new site."

 This is also the first drilling project with his new partners, Marty Lagina, Craig Tester, Rick Lagina and Alan Kostrzewa, oil barons also known as The Michigan Group. They currently own about 78 per cent of the island.

 For the time being Mr. Blankenship said he plans on playing his cards close when it comes to any new work.

 "Whatever results we have we're going to keep to ourselves for now," he said. "We're going to wait until we've got a bird in the hand [before we make any announcements]."

 There are plans for drilling to resume this summer, but Mr. Blankenship couldn't say exactly when that would be.

 An on-line forum out of the United Kingdom dedicated to the Oak Island treasure hunt (http://www.oakislandtreasure.co.uk) claiming to have inside information suggests the "new drilling efforts are concentrated further north than the original Money Pit as three holes have been dug - one to 160 feet and two more to a huge depth of 300 feet."

 Mr. Blankenship, a native of Delaware, Ohio, began his hunt for the Oak Island treasure in 1965. In the past four decades he has found artifacts and groundwork he believes are key to unlocking the island's secrets.

 Many rumours abound as to what's buried on the island, from Captain Kidd's treasure and Shakespeare's manuscripts to the Holy Grail itself.

SouthShoreNow.Ca - 18 March 2008

http://southshorenow.ca/news/news/index42.php