Bolivia, a landlocked nation of 12 million, imports roughly 200 tonnes of mercury a year, more than China, India, or Russia. That mercury fuels illegal gold dredging deep in the Amazon.

In one year, 10 tonnes of Bolivian gold left the country without ever being officially mined. Meanwhile, China's central bank has reported 20 straight months of gold buying, and one Wall Street bank estimates the real total is nearly five times the official figure.

Police in eastern Congo once found twelve gold bars and $800,000 hidden under a car seat. A Swiss research group later uncovered a bigger gap: 435 tonnes of gold, more than a tonne a day, leaving Africa with no export record anywhere on Earth.

Ghana banned foreign gold traders and raided a house 48 hours later, arresting ten Chinese nationals. Meanwhile China has logged twenty straight months of official gold buying, with outside estimates suggesting the real total is nearly five times what Beijing reports.

One of America's largest gold producers operates a flagship mine literally named Fort Knox. Gold trades near $4,000 an ounce, and central banks are buying at the fastest pace since 1950.

This producer trades at roughly half the earnings multiple of the average large American stock. Wall Street's average price target sits about 74% above current levels, and it reports quarterly earnings in days.