Long-Term Debt and Capital Lease Obligations (Details Textual) (USD $)	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended											3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended							3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended				6 Months Ended	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2011	Sep. 30, 2010	Sep. 30, 2011	Sep. 30, 2010	Oct. 31, 2011	Jun. 01, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Jul. 06, 2010	Jul. 15, 2009	Sep. 30, 2011 Coeur Mexicana [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Empresa Mineral Manquiri [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 Empresa Mineral Manquiri [Member]	Nov. 27, 2009 Empresa Mineral Manquiri [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 3.25% Convertible Senior Notes due March 2028 [Member]	Sep. 30, 2010 3.25% Convertible Senior Notes due March 2028 [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 3.25% Convertible Senior Notes due March 2028 [Member]	Sep. 30, 2010 3.25% Convertible Senior Notes due March 2028 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 3.25% Convertible Senior Notes due March 2028 [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 1.25% Convertible Senior Notes due January 2024 [Member]	Jan. 21, 2011 1.25% Convertible Senior Notes due January 2024 [Member]	Jan. 18, 2011 1.25% Convertible Senior Notes due January 2024 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 1.25% Convertible Senior Notes due January 2024 [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Senior Term Notes due December 31, 2012 [Member]	Sep. 30, 2010 Senior Term Notes due December 31, 2012 [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Senior Term Notes due December 31, 2012 [Member]	Sep. 30, 2010 Senior Term Notes due December 31, 2012 [Member]	Oct. 31, 2011 Senior Term Notes due December 31, 2012 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 Senior Term Notes due December 31, 2012 [Member]	Jun. 30, 2011 Kensington Term Facility [Member] oz	Sep. 30, 2011 Kensington Term Facility [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 Kensington Term Facility [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Kensington Term Facility [Member] Call Option [Member] oz	Sep. 30, 2011 Kensington Term Facility [Member] Put Option [Member] oz
Long term debt and capital lease obligations (Textual) [Abstract]
Principal amount of bank loan													$ 5,000,000
Interest rate on notes													6.50%	3.25%		3.25%			1.25%
Debt Outstanding balance											0	2,500,000		48,700,000		48,700,000			0				18,800,000		18,800,000		0
Long-term debt and capital leases	124,491,000		124,491,000				130,067,000							44,934,000		44,934,000		43,220,000	0			0	3,750,000		3,750,000			15,000,000		64,274,000	48,322,000
Carrying value of the equity component														10,900,000		10,900,000		10,900,000
Interest expense														400,000	400,000	1,200,000	2,000,000						400,000	1,400,000	1,300,000	3,900,000
Accretion expense	4,990,000	4,778,000	16,027,000	14,407,000										600,000	500,000	1,700,000	2,500,000
Debt discount remaining														3,800,000		3,800,000
Effective interest rate on the notes														8.90%		8.90%
Notes repurchased																				914,000	945,000						18,800,000
Percentage of principal amount of notes to be repurchased, plus accrued and unpaid interest equivalent to repurchase price					118.00%									100.00%		100.00%
Initial conversion rate of common stock per $1000 principal amount of notes														17.60254		17.60254
Per principal amount of notes convertible into specified number of common stock																1,000
Initial conversion price														$ 56.81		$ 56.81
Notes repurchased																							3,800,000	8,300,000	11,300,000	25,000,000
Loss on debt extinguishments	(784,000)	(806,000)	(1,640,000)	(12,714,000)																			800,000	800,000	1,600,000	2,400,000
Percentage of payment by cash																							100.00%		100.00%
Common stock issued in exchange of notes																										1,060,413
Borrowing under term facility																														82,800,000
Protection of gold under gold hedging program																													243,750
Gold under collars protection																																182,500	205,000
Weighted average put feature of each collar																														947.19
Weighted average call feature of each collar																														1,889.05
Outstanding amount of capital leases										21,000,000
Additional Long term debt and capital lease obligations(Textual) [Abstract]
Date of first installment			September 30,2010
Capital leases for equipment and facilities leases	8,500,000		8,500,000
Short-term Financing Agreement								2,400,000
Interest to finance insurance premium								2.90%
Final payment of monthly installments						200,000
Outstanding Amount	0		0				1,100,000
Equipment financing agreement bearing interest									8.26%
Final payment made on loan, monthly installments									24 months
Equipment Financing Agreement Outstanding	200,000		200,000				1,200,000
Accretion expense on royalty obligation discount	5,400,000	5,400,000	16,400,000	15,400,000
Remaining Minimum Obligation Under Royalty Agreements	74,200,000		74,200,000				80,300,000
Expensed Interest	7,980,000	9,951,000	26,553,000	21,402,000
Capitalized interest	$ 886,000	$ 722,000	$ 1,302,000	$ 9,097,000