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Guerrilla Gold Rush (2012x1)

Air date: Jan 15, 2012

aka: Colombias Gold War With the price of gold soaring to historic highs, Colombia is in the throws of a gold rush unlike anything it has seen in years. Across dense jungle and the rural countryside, wildcat miners are tearing up huge swaths of land in a frenzied search for the precious metal. But even more worrying for authorities is that this gold may be fueling a new chapter in the civil conflict that has defined Colombia for the last five decades. Navigating the ever-shifting front lines, National Geographic correspondent Mariana van Zeller examines how left wing guerrillas, criminal organizations and international mining companies are all staking their claim to Colombia's gold.