Derivative Financial Instruments and Fair Value of Financial Instruments (Details)	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	12 Months Ended			3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended																																														3 Months Ended			9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2013 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2013 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2013 MXN	Dec. 31, 2012 MXN	Sep. 30, 2013 Franco-Nevada warrant [Member] USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2012 Franco-Nevada warrant [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2013 Franco-Nevada warrant [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 Franco-Nevada warrant [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2013 Palmarejo gold production royalty [Member] 2013 [Member] USD ($) oz	Sep. 30, 2013 Palmarejo gold production royalty [Member] 2014 [Member] USD ($) oz	Sep. 30, 2013 Palmarejo gold production royalty [Member] Derivative Instruments Settle in Year 2014 Member [Member] USD ($) oz	Sep. 30, 2013 Palmarejo gold production royalty [Member] Thereafter [Member] USD ($) oz	Sep. 30, 2013 Mexican peso forward purchase contracts [Member] 2013 [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2013 Mexican peso forward purchase contracts [Member] 2013 [Member] MXN	Sep. 30, 2013 Mexican peso forward purchase contracts [Member] 2014 [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2013 Mexican peso forward purchase contracts [Member] 2014 [Member] MXN	Sep. 30, 2013 Mexican peso forward purchase contracts [Member] Derivative Instruments Settle in Year 2014 Member [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2013 Mexican peso forward purchase contracts [Member] Derivative Instruments Settle in Year 2014 Member [Member] MXN	Sep. 30, 2013 Mexican peso forward purchase contracts [Member] Thereafter [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2013 Mexican peso forward purchase contracts [Member] Thereafter [Member] MXN	Sep. 30, 2013 Mexico Peso Put Options [Member] 2013 [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2013 Mexico Peso Put Options [Member] 2013 [Member] MXN	Sep. 30, 2013 Mexico Peso Put Options [Member] 2014 [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2013 Mexico Peso Put Options [Member] 2014 [Member] MXN	Sep. 30, 2013 Mexico Peso Put Options [Member] Derivative Instruments Settle in Year 2014 Member [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2013 Mexico Peso Put Options [Member] Derivative Instruments Settle in Year 2014 Member [Member] MXN	Sep. 30, 2013 Mexico Peso Put Options [Member] Thereafter [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2013 Mexico Peso Put Options [Member] Thereafter [Member] MXN	Sep. 30, 2013 Mexico Peso Call Options [Member] 2013 [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2013 Mexico Peso Call Options [Member] 2013 [Member] MXN	Sep. 30, 2013 Mexico Peso Call Options [Member] 2014 [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2013 Mexico Peso Call Options [Member] 2014 [Member] MXN	Sep. 30, 2013 Mexico Peso Call Options [Member] Derivative Instruments Settle in Year 2014 Member [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2013 Mexico Peso Call Options [Member] Derivative Instruments Settle in Year 2014 Member [Member] MXN	Sep. 30, 2013 Mexico Peso Call Options [Member] Thereafter [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2013 Mexico Peso Call Options [Member] Thereafter [Member] MXN	Sep. 30, 2013 Silver concentrate sales agreements [Member] 2013 [Member] USD ($) oz	Sep. 30, 2013 Silver concentrate sales agreements [Member] 2014 [Member] USD ($) oz	Sep. 30, 2013 Silver concentrate sales agreements [Member] Derivative Instruments Settle in Year 2014 Member [Member] USD ($) oz	Sep. 30, 2013 Silver concentrate sales agreements [Member] Thereafter [Member] USD ($) oz	Sep. 30, 2013 Gold concentrates sales agreements [Member] 2013 [Member] USD ($) oz	Sep. 30, 2013 Gold concentrates sales agreements [Member] 2014 [Member] USD ($) oz	Sep. 30, 2013 Gold concentrates sales agreements [Member] Derivative Instruments Settle in Year 2014 Member [Member] USD ($) oz	Sep. 30, 2013 Gold concentrates sales agreements [Member] Thereafter [Member] USD ($) oz	Sep. 30, 2013 Gold put options purchased [Member] 2013 [Member] USD ($) oz	Sep. 30, 2013 Gold put options purchased [Member] 2014 [Member] USD ($) oz	Sep. 30, 2013 Gold put options purchased [Member] Derivative Instruments Settle in Year 2014 Member [Member] USD ($) oz	Sep. 30, 2013 Gold put options purchased [Member] Thereafter [Member] USD ($) oz	Sep. 30, 2013 Silver put options purchased [Member] 2013 [Member] USD ($) oz	Sep. 30, 2013 Silver put options purchased [Member] 2014 [Member] USD ($) oz	Sep. 30, 2013 Silver put options purchased [Member] Derivative Instruments Settle in Year 2014 Member [Member] USD ($) oz	Sep. 30, 2013 Silver put options purchased [Member] Thereafter [Member] USD ($) oz	Sep. 30, 2013 Foreign Exchange Forward [Member] Mexican peso forward purchase contracts [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 Foreign Exchange Forward [Member] Mexican peso forward purchase contracts [Member] USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2012 Foreign Exchange Forward [Member] Mexican peso forward purchase contracts [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 Foreign Exchange Forward [Member] Mexican peso forward purchase contracts [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Foreign Exchange Forward [Member] Mexican peso forward purchase contracts [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2013 Prepaid Expenses and Other Current Assets [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Prepaid Expenses and Other Current Assets [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Prepaid Expenses and Other Current Assets [Member] Gold Put Purchase and Call Sold Options Net [Member] USD ($)
Derivative [Line Items]
Derivative, Fair Value, Net			$ 9,300,000																																																			$ (24,000,000)				$ 0	$ 211,000	$ 1,406,000
Derivative, Gain (Loss) on Derivative, Net	400,000	1,100,000																																																				0	600,000	1,400,000	3,400,000
Derivative Instruments, Loss Recognized in Income						5,600,000	10,900,000	22,900,000	35,000,000
Derivative instruments Settlement
Derivative, Notional Amount										8,633,000	24,895,000	24,691,000	19,236,000		154,816		146,460,000		0		0		0		300,000		0		0		0		361,500,000		0		0	2,326,000	0	0	0	30,123,000	0	0	0	(382,000)	0	0	0	(186,000)	0	0	0
Derivative average gold price in excess of minimum contractual Deduction Rate	400	400								502,000	498,000	494,000	490,000
Notional ounces										17,201	50,004	50,004	39,285																									101,908	0	0	0	26,265	0	0	0	25,000	0	0	0	1,250,000	0	0	0
Fair value of foreign exchange contracts	1,300,000	1,300,000												12,000,000		12,000,000		0		0
Average rate					13.11										12.90		12.20		0.00		0		0.00		12.50		0		0		0		15,060		0		0
Notional amount of foreign currency derivatives																						0		24,000,000		0		0		0		24,000,000		0		0																		24,000,000				26,100,000
Derivative average price																																						22.82	0	0	0	1,147	0	0	0	1,200	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Derivative Instruments, Gain (Loss) Recognized in Income, Net																																																						100,000	400,000	700,000	1,500,000
Weighted Average Put Feature of Each Collar			$ 967.86
Weighted Average Strike Price of Call Options Written				15.06