Friday, 18 September 2009

Oak Island Treasure Trove Licence update

For those who have been asking 'why is nothing happening?' with the Oak Island treasure hunt, it comes down to Oak Island Tours Inc obtaining the correct paperwork to allow them to dig. Yes, despite actually owning the land, the treasure hunters still need permission from the Nova Scotian government to to look for treasure in their own back yard.

D'Arcy O'Connor, author of The Secret Treasure of Oak Island and The Big Dig kindly provided us with this update yesterday:

"As of today (Sept.17, 2009) Oak Island Tours Inc. (comprising the Michigan Group and Dan Blankenship) still have not received a Treasure Trove License to proceed with work on Oak Island. John MacNeill, who replaced Rick Ratcliffe as Nova Scotia's Registrar of of Mineral and Petroleum Titles this past May, says their application is "still in the conduit", and that he is "hoping it will move soon".

"As you know, OIT Inc. passed the first hurdle last April by getting the necessary Heritage Research Permit from the Nova Scotia Museum, and then was cleared by the Registrar for a TTL. But it first had to be approved by the NS Cabinet and then be given "Royal Assent" by the province's Governor General before being blue-skyed for a final go-ahead. But before that happened, came a change in government, with the NDP now in power, and with new department ministers having to re-read and vote on all pending legislation.

"Another thing MacNeill told me is that the TTL, once issued, will be for a two-year period, unlike the five-year licenses that were issued in the past. However, the permission to dig will begin at the time of issuance, and not date back to when OIT Inc.'s last license expired on June 30, 2008. He has no idea when the application will get through these final hoops, since "as with all things political, one can never tell".

"As for Fred Nolan and Robert Young, their Oak Island TTL applications haven't even passed the HRP stage yet.

"So I doubt that we will see any actual drilling or digging happening on the island during the balance of this year. Bummer!"

So this is frustrating news for all of us, desperate to see the treasure hunt begin on Oak Island again.

How do you feel about this news?

Do you think the need for a Heritage Research Permit from the Nova Scotia Museum is a good idea?

Or do you feel additional government involvement is getting in the way of recovering the treasure?

9 comments:

Danno Industries said...

Hey Jo,
First of all, I just one to congratulate you on doing the best job on the internet chronicling Oak Island. No doubt you will be a celebrity if anything is ever found down there.

To answer your question, I feel it is a joke that a government museum has the power in Canada to block private industry. I can understand that a higher government official like the Gov. General has the power to control excavation within his province. But a museum?!? Come on now.

The chief job of is a museum is to report history, not influence it. A museum would be laughed at in the States if it tried to influence business.

I also had a question to ask you. I know much of Oak Island is privately owned by Blankenship and "The Michigan Group". I have been sprawling the web and cannot find any record of this "michigan group". If you could provide me with a website or records linking to them, it would be much appreciated..

I have a little money to spend and am interested in investing with them for a nominal stake...I know Oak Island is a private thing, but do you think they would be interested?

Anonymous said...

Maybe farfetched and maybe not but…

If this treasure is as important as it is thought to be, then are the treasures being taken out via another exit and all this waiting is to mask this fact?

ginghis said...

The involvement by the heritage group is presumably based on the premise that anything of historical importance hidden away below ground belongs equally to everybody in the province. I believe this is a valid principle but I do not see the need for the NS cabinet to review an application to dig and for the Premier to endorse it. They have more important work to do and it should be no surprise they cannot find time to do their job on the application. A government appointed committee or a minister should have the power to decide.

Anonymous said...

Just because you own the land, does not mean you own what is under it. Same as you do not own the air above it. That is why the government has to be involved. Second, the museum is involved to ensure what ever is found under the island is given the respect it deserves, to make sure it does not go missing like all the other so called items that have been found. The treasure on Oak Island has been a big part of Nova Scotia history for a long long time. The legend is even taught in school! It would be a real shame for something to go missing.

Oak Island Treasure said...

Hey everyone - thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts, it's been great to read the different standpoints on this issue.

This is a very interesting situation, particularly as the project to excavate Oak Island is funded by private investment, leaving many wondering what right the government has to get involved and have authority to determine the beginning of the dig.

I can see that the involvement of the government in the treasure hunt may spare us from the frustrations of past dig attempts where we have heard sketchy details of a variety of artifacts going missing - I refer to the gold chains brought up on the drill bit, the often cited inscribed stone and its equally tenuous inscription.

One would hope the presence of a professional archaeologist to catalogue such items should prevent them from going missing. (Although I have friends who have worked on huge, international archaeological digs and you'd be surprised how often items of value are "lost".)

I do tend to feel that Oak Island has played a part in Canadian history, treasure or no treasure, and as the recent comment said, is actually taught is schools as an important part of Nova Scotian heritage. The hunt itself is part of local history now, regardless of whether treasure is ever recovered.

If and when the dig finally goes ahead, what do you think the impact of this would be on the local community? Would increased media attention bring welcome investment into the local economy, or have the locals had enough of the never ending treasure hunt?

Anonymous said...

What do you mean you don't own what's under your land? Have you never seen "The Beverly Hillbillies"?

Anonymous said...

"The Beverly Hillbillies" Didn't make millions from the oil... they made it from their land. Key way around everything.... Dig till you find something and then sell the island with a couple more 0's on the end... Let the next guy try to clain the treasure... Or just "take what ya can and give nothing back" I mean we're talkin bout pirates here... how do you think they would get around this delema...

Anonymous said...

the reason why oak island is closed off..is because the people funding the excavation are RICH PEOPLE.
I suggest everyone should look into The Illuminati. These are the people controlling Oak Island now.

it is said that at the bottom of this pit there are the royal treasure of the British Royal family (main characters in the illuminati) or even the Arch of the Covenant (it's known that the Illuminati are Zionist extremists, read: rich jews...they own Hollywood and the US Government). Also the British Royal family has German-Jewish blood (again look for some illuminati documentaries online).

If you want to find out what's at the bottom of this pit, you're gonna have to dig yourself without the permission of the governments or any type of "controlling institution".


ps. the Arch of the Covenant is believed to be the work of the devil. That's why in the Bible and also in the Quran it says that God will show the most wrath upon the Jews. The reason why "God will show most wrath to the jews" is because THEY ARE THE ILLUMINATI. All the conspiracies about 9/11 attacks on the WTC are very much true. PLEASE LOOK INTO THE ILLUMINATI DOCUMENTARIES. EVERYTHING WILL BE EXPLAINED TO YOU.
If you are wondering why they don't mention anything about the Illuminati on TV, is because they own most television stations.

here's a link to the documentary:
http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/the-illuminati/

Jo Atherton said...

You are quite right that very little is happening with regards to the Oak Island treasure hunt but this is down to local legislation.

In order to dig for treasure, the owners require a Treasure Trove Licence issued by the Nova Scotian Governemnt, who have since ceased the renewal of all licences while the administration of such is under review.

Nova Scotia is the only province in Canada which allows treasure hunting of this kind, and UNESCO have expressed concerns as to the manner in which the activity is administered.

Should they decide that no further TTLs will be issued, it would seem
the treasure hunt will be over on Oak Island for the foreseeable
future, thwarted this time not by flood tunnels and booby traps, but
administrative red tape.