Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss) (Unaudited) - USD ($) shares in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017	Mar. 31, 2016
Income Statement [Abstract]
Revenues	$ 172,583,000	$ 145,458,000
Cost of goods sold (excluding depreciation, depletion, and amortization shown separately)	131,752,000	118,464,000
Operating expenses
Selling, general and administrative expenses	22,470,000	18,278,000
Depreciation, depletion and amortization expense	19,442,000	18,586,000
Asset impairments	0	76,000
Other operating expense (income)	(1,060,000)	330,000
Loss from operations	(21,000)	(10,276,000)
Interest expense, net	12,537,000	17,262,000
Other non-operating expense (income)		(5,000)
Loss before benefit from income taxes	(12,558,000)	(27,533,000)
Benefit from income taxes	(1,148,000)	(15,754,000)
Net loss	(11,410,000)	(11,779,000)
Less: Net income (loss) attributable to the non-controlling interest	178,000	(3,000)
Net loss attributable to Fairmount Santrol Holdings Inc.	$ (11,588,000)	$ (11,776,000)
Loss per share
Basic	$ (0.05)	$ (0.07)
Diluted	$ (0.05)	$ (0.07)
Weighted average number of shares outstanding
Basic	223,739	161,446
Diluted	223,739	161,446