Brian McKenna explores The Secret World of Gold

"Andy sent me an email early Friday morning," recounted the Montreal director. "He said, ‘There's a big event happening. Someone's dumping 500 tons of gold into the market.' That ended up driving the price down by $78 an ounce. And 500 tons is 16 million ounces -- we're talking about a serious intervention here. Who's got that kind of money?"

"Andy" is Andrew Maguire, a key source in McKenna's fascinating new film The Secret World of Gold, which premières Thursday at 9 p.m. on CBC-TV. The hour-long documentary plunges into the dramatically rich narrative of gold, unveiling some shocking facts along the way.

"I was just going to do a history piece, until I stumbled over a whistleblower," McKenna said.

A veteran gold and silver trader, Maguire denounces the shady tactics of the industry, breaking down the ways in which precious metal prices are manipulated using insider trading.