Rick, Craig Tester, and the team gather at the Money Pit to discuss the metal found the previous week in Borehole D-2. Craig confirms that XRF testing of two samples both showed gold on the metal at seven hundred parts per million. The team has established a drill program across the C-1 Cluster, using water tests that revealed high levels of silver and gold in previously drilled boreholes. Combined with a grid program, the aim is to locate the Money Pit vault. The next target is Borehole B-4, fourteen feet from D-2 at the northern edge of the cluster, where the team hopes to find either treasure or a tunnel leading to it. A core from 89 feet contains wood, and the next sample from 93 feet yields sawn timber that Terry Matheson identifies as planks from a tunnel.
Marty, Craig, and Dan Henskee travel to St. Mary's University in Halifax, where Dr. Christa Brosseau and Dr. Xiang Yang will examine the D-2 metal using a scanning electron microscope capable of magnifying objects up to 200,000 times their actual size. As Dr. Yang scans the sample, he notes the absence of manganese, placing the material before the 1840s. He then identifies a piece of pyrite before coming across a very bright particle that turns out to be 65 percent gold, 26 percent copper, and 5 percent silver. Dr. Brosseau explains that adding copper to gold changes its color to rose gold, a material that contains gold, copper, silver, and zinc. Rose gold was used in the early 19th century for jewelry, especially in Russia, though the practice dates back to the Middle Ages.
In the southeast corner of the swamp, Billy Gerhardt continues to pull material while Gary Drayton metal detects the area. Gary and Miriam notice large pieces of black glass that Laird Niven identifies as fragments of an old wine bottle dating to the 1770s or 1780s. Rick then spots two to three feet of stacked rock and cobble sitting deeper than the previously found stone structures, and Steve Guptill is called in to take readings. As Laird, Miriam, and Liz continue to examine the new stone structure, Laird discovers a piece of delicate pottery that he identifies as Mi'kmaq and estimates could be 500 to 2,500 years old. The find will need to go to a lab, and Laird immediately informs Rick.
In a War Room video conference, Laird explains to Marty and Craig that CCH has inspected the excavation and was satisfied with what they found but needs to contact the Acadia First Nation to determine if they wish to visit the site. Laird warns that CCH could require the team to stop working in the area entirely. Rick tells Marty and Craig they are trying to cooperate with CCH and continue moving forward, and the group agrees to keep working in the areas still permitted. Steve returns to the swamp with his survey results: the elevation is one foot and eight inches, and the projected path runs to the Money Pit only a couple of feet north of C1.
At the Interpretive Center, Marty meets with Rick, Alex Lagina, Jack Begley, Charles Barkhouse, and Doug Crowell to review the D-2 scan results. Marty explains that the gold contains copper and silver, which Dr. Brosseau identified as rose gold, and notes that rose gold is typically 75 percent gold, 22.5 percent copper, and 2.5 percent silver. He then points out that Tumbaga, an alloy used by the Aztec, Maya, and Inca in religious artifacts and jewelry as early as 300 A.D., is made from the same three metals. Some researchers believe the Oak Island treasure could consist of gold, silver, and jewels taken from the New World by Spanish conquistadors between the 16th and 18th centuries, a theory supported by numerous Spanish artifacts found on the island and the Spanish colonial cross in the possession of the McGinnis sisters. After hearing the evidence, the group agrees that D-2 will be the location of one of the ten-foot caissons. In a second War Room session, Laird reports that the Acadia First Nation has spoken with CCH, and Steve shows a map of the island indicating that four acres now require special permission before work can continue. Marty says he is ready to finish the year in the Money Pit and then quit, but Rick urges the team to move forward, pointing to the promise of the drill program. He tells them, "Sempre avanti. Let's just keep moving forward."
