Note 9 - Shareholders' Equity (Details)	1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended			48 Months Ended				12 Months Ended					12 Months Ended							1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended		12 Months Ended							12 Months Ended			0 Months Ended	12 Months Ended		1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Feb. 25, 2013 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 USD ($)	Feb. 14, 2014 USD ($)	May 31, 2013 USD ($)	May 31, 2013 CAD	Dec. 31, 2013 Satisfy Withholding Obligations [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 Stock Compensation Plan [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Stock Compensation Plan [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Stock Compensation Plan [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Vesting In March 2014 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Vesting In June 2014 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Vesting In June 2015 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Vesting In June 2016 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Vesting In August 2016 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Series 3 Warrants [Member] USD ($)	Feb. 28, 2009 Series 3 Warrants [Member]	Feb. 28, 2009 Common Stock and Series 3 Warrants [Member]	Mar. 31, 2014 Series One And Series Three Warrants [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 Series B Preferred Stock [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Series B Preferred Stock [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 2010 Stock Incentive Plan [Member] Non-employee Directors [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 2010 Stock Incentive Plan [Member] Non-employee Directors [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 2010 Stock Incentive Plan [Member] Non-employee Directors [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 2010 Stock Incentive Plan [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 2010 Stock Incentive Plan [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 2010 Stock Incentive Plan [Member] USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2010 2010 Stock Incentive Plan [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Directors’ Stock Plan [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Directors’ Stock Plan [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Directors’ Stock Plan [Member] USD ($)	May 08, 2012 Common Stock Repurchase Program [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 Common Stock Repurchase Program [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 Expense Recognized Over Remaining Vesting Period [Member] USD ($)	Feb. 25, 2013 Minimum [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 Minimum [Member] USD ($)
Note 9 - Shareholders' Equity (Details) [Line Items]
Common Stock, Shares Authorized		500,000,000	500,000,000		500,000,000
Common Stock, Par or Stated Value Per Share (in Dollars per share)		$ 0.25	$ 0.25		$ 0.25
Common Stock, Shares, Issued		342,663,381	285,209,848		342,663,381
Common Stock, Voting Rights		one
Common Stock, Dividends, Per Share, Declared (in Dollars per share)		$ 0.01																																				$ 0.0025	$ 0.01
Average Realized Silver Price (in Dollars)																																							$ 30
Dividends, Common Stock (in Dollars)	3,600,000	(6,062,000)	(17,121,000)	(5,592,000)
Stock Repurchase Program, Authorized Amount (in Dollars)																																			20,000,000
Cumulative Stock Repurchased																																				400,300
Treasury Stock Acquired, Average Cost Per Share (in Dollars per share)									$ 2.86																											$ 5.56
Stock Repurchase Program, Remaining Authorized Repurchase Amount (in Dollars)																																				19,600,000
Share Price (in Dollars per share)		$ 3.08			$ 3.08	$ 3.47	$ 3.83	3.97
Stock Issued During Period, Shares, New Issues																					36,800,000
Class of Warrant or Right, Number of Securities Called by Warrants or Rights																				18,400,000
(in Dollars)		61,000	0	5,307,000
																			25,000
Proceeds from Warrant Exercises (in Dollars)		61,000		5,786,000															61,000			61,000
Preferred Stock, Shares Authorized		5,000,000	5,000,000		5,000,000
Preferred Stock, Par or Stated Value Per Share (in Dollars per share)		$ 0.25	$ 0.25		$ 0.25
Preferred Stock, Shares Outstanding		157,816	157,816		157,816																		157,816
Preferred Stock, Dividend Rate, Per-Dollar-Amount (in Dollars per share)																							$ 3.50
Preferred Stock, Redemption Price Per Share (in Dollars per share)																							$ 50
Preferred Stock, Liquidation Preference Per Share (in Dollars per share)																							$ 50
Preferred Stock, Liquidation Preference, Value (in Dollars)																							7,900,000	7,900,000
Preferred Stock, Voting Rights																							one
Preferred Stock, Conversion Price (in Dollars per share)																							$ 15.55
Preferred Stock, Conversion Rate (in Dollars per share)																							$ 3.2154
Allocated Share-based Compensation Expense (in Dollars)		3,600,000								4,500,000	3,100,000	2,100,000																276,000	275,000	147,000		111,000	80,000	194,000			6,300,000
Employee Service Share-based Compensation, Nonvested Awards, Compensation Cost Not yet Recognized (in Dollars)												2,400,000
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Number of Shares Authorized																															20,000,000	1,000,000
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Number of Shares Available for Grant		18,065,847			18,065,847																											594,635
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Method of Measuring Cost of Award per Participant, Numerator (in Dollars)																																24,000
Stock Issued During Period, Shares, Share-based Compensation, Gross																									94,200	59,484	19,752					28,050	18,492	22,884
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Options, Grants in Period, Gross					0
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Options, Outstanding, Intrinsic Value (in Dollars)		0			0
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Options, Exercisable, Weighted Average Remaining Contractual Term		1 year
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Options, Exercises in Period		0	0
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Options, Exercises in Period, Intrinsic Value (in Dollars)				600,000
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Equity Instruments Other than Options, Nonvested, Number		2,085,301	1,037,146		2,085,301								2,085,301
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Equity Instruments Other than Options, Vested in Period		(526,591)												180,732	1,095,366	465,058	318,145	26,000
Stock Repurchased During Period, Shares									84,433
Stock Repurchased During Period, Value (in Dollars)		$ (286,000)	$ (1,941,000)						$ 200,000