Canada's Pacific Rim mining company owns all the land around El Dorado in El Salvador - one of the most coveted gold mines in Central America.
But the company has been unable to dig in because of resistance from local environmentalists who say that cyanide used in gold mining will contaminate their rivers.
The mine is currently shut down because of protests.
And the recent murders and death threats against activists in the region have put the spotlight on the gold mining project there.
Al Jazeera's Lucia Newman reports from Cabanas, in El Salvador.
