DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS - Capital Requirements and Restructuring (Details) $ / shares in Units, £ in Millions											12 Months Ended
	Dec. 09, 2019 GBP (£)	Dec. 09, 2019 USD ($) $ / shares	Dec. 06, 2019 $ / shares shares	Oct. 14, 2019 USD ($)	Aug. 28, 2019	Jul. 29, 2019	Mar. 21, 2019 tranche	Oct. 16, 2017 USD ($) tranche $ / shares shares	Nov. 02, 2015 USD ($) tranche $ / shares shares	Apr. 17, 2015 USD ($) $ / shares shares	Dec. 31, 2019 USD ($) $ / shares shares	Dec. 31, 2018 $ / shares	Dec. 31, 2014 USD ($)
CAPITAL REQUIREMENTS AND RESTRUCTURING
Common stock issued | shares											152,033,515
Face amount													$ 8,500,000
Amount committed to be purchased											$ 600,000
Number of days in which the transaction must be closed						2 days
AMER International Group
CAPITAL REQUIREMENTS AND RESTRUCTURING
Warrants to purchase common shares | shares											12,000,000
Number of days considered for VWAP			30 days
Number of tranche investment | tranche									3
Private Placement		$ 4,000,000
Private placement (in shares) | shares			1,100,000						10,000,000
Purchase price per share acquired (in dollars per share) | $ / shares		$ 0.40	$ 0.27
Denomination of amount borrowed		$ 100,000,000
Initial term of mine production	5 years	5 years
Class II director term on Board of Directors									3 years
Expense reimbursement from reserve for potential opportunities											$ 2,500,000
Percentage of shares outstanding											20.00%
Private Placement
CAPITAL REQUIREMENTS AND RESTRUCTURING
Number of tranche investment | tranche							3
Purchase price per share acquired (in dollars per share) | $ / shares		$ 0.40
Face amount											$ 1,300,000
Private Placement | AMER International Group
CAPITAL REQUIREMENTS AND RESTRUCTURING
Shares agreed to purchase as per agreement | shares										40,000,000
Warrants to purchase common shares | shares									80,000,000	80,000,000
Warrant exercise price | $ / shares									$ 0.50
Number of days considered for VWAP										90 days
Volume weighted average price per share | $ / shares										$ 0.50
First Tranche | AMER International Group
CAPITAL REQUIREMENTS AND RESTRUCTURING
Private Placement									$ 4,000,000
Common stock issued | shares									13,300,000
Purchase price per share acquired (in dollars per share) | $ / shares									$ 0.30
Second Tranche | AMER International Group
CAPITAL REQUIREMENTS AND RESTRUCTURING
Shares agreed to purchase as per agreement | shares								14,600,000
Number of days considered for VWAP								30 days
Number of tranche investment | tranche								3
Private Placement								$ 6,000,000
Purchase price per share acquired (in dollars per share) | $ / shares								$ 0.41
Funds allocated from private placement of shares for general corporate purposes								$ 5,500,000
Funds allocated from private placement for expense reimbursement								$ 500,000
Third Tranche | AMER International Group
CAPITAL REQUIREMENTS AND RESTRUCTURING
Private Placement									$ 10,000,000		$ 5,000,000
Common stock issued | shares									20,000,000
Purchase price per share acquired (in dollars per share) | $ / shares									$ 0.50
Shares involved in closing of joint business | shares									10,000,000
Maximum
CAPITAL REQUIREMENTS AND RESTRUCTURING
Warrant exercise price | $ / shares											$ 5.00	$ 5.00
Maximum | AMER International Group
CAPITAL REQUIREMENTS AND RESTRUCTURING
Expected saleable amount | £	£ 20
Minimum
CAPITAL REQUIREMENTS AND RESTRUCTURING
Warrant exercise price | $ / shares											$ 0.35	$ 0.50
Minimum | AMER International Group
CAPITAL REQUIREMENTS AND RESTRUCTURING
Expected saleable amount | £	£ 3
Mt. Hope Project | Senior secured term loan | AMER International Group
CAPITAL REQUIREMENTS AND RESTRUCTURING
Face amount		$ 700,000,000								$ 700,000,000
Investment Securities Purchase Agreement
CAPITAL REQUIREMENTS AND RESTRUCTURING
Dispute resolution period					10 days
AMER Extension Agreement | Settled litigation
CAPITAL REQUIREMENTS AND RESTRUCTURING
Proceeds from legal settlements				$ 300,000
Period considered for calculating weighted average share price				30 days