Santo Domingo.- A renowned treasure hunter has announced a 50-50 split agreement with the Dominican Government for the exclusive rights to search a 25-square-mile portion of the Silver Bank (Banco de la Plata) for shipwrecked silver, gold bullion and centuries-old artifacts, north of the Caribbean country.

Burt Webber Jr. said "it’s not just about getting rich; it’s also history, the mystique of it all. It is just fascinating," he said regarding an estimated US$100 million in riches that went to the bottom of the sea after the Spanish galleon Concepción foundered on the Silver Bank, about 80 miles north of the Dominican Republic.

Now 65, Webber has been a treasure hunter since 1978, when he first located the Concepción and recovered booty then valued at US$14 million. But Webber is confident more remains, and when he and his 13-member crew head south to Banco la Plata aboard the Ocean Lady next week, they’ll take with them an unprecedented array of high-tech detection equipment.