Note 7 - Commitments, Contingencies and Obligations (Details Textual)			1 Months Ended		12 Months Ended		27 Months Ended
	Dec. 11, 2013	Apr. 12, 2013 USD ($)	Aug. 31, 2012 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2011 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2014 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2014 USD ($)
Contractual Obligations					$ 400,000
Commitments For Capital Lease Payments					12,000,000
Surety Bonds					112,700,000
Loss Contingency, Number of Plaintiffs	4
Lucky Friday [Member]
Open Purchase Orders					700,000
Casa Berardi [Member]
Open Purchase Orders					2,100,000
Greens Creek [Member]
Open Purchase Orders					10,000,000
Senior Notes [Member]
Proceeds from Issuance of Debt		$ 500,000,000
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage		6.875%
Debt Instrument, Increase (Decrease), Net						$ 6,500,000
Johnny M Mine Area near San Mateo, New Mexico [Member]
Payment Of Response Costs			$ 1,100,000				$ 1,100,000
Estimated Response Costs					5,600,000
Liability for Remediation					5,600,000
Johnny M Mine Area near San Mateo, New Mexico [Member] | Minimum [Member]
Estimated Alternative Response Costs					0
Johnny M Mine Area near San Mateo, New Mexico [Member] | Maximum [Member]
Estimated Alternative Response Costs					$ 221,000,000
Carpenter Snow Creek Superfund Site, Cascade County, Montana [Member]
Estimated Response Costs				$ 4,500,000
Estimated Future Response Cost				$ 100,000,000
Joint Venture [Member] | Rio Grande Silver Inc and Emerald Mining and Leasing LLC [Member]
Equity Method Investment, Ownership Percentage					70.00%
Maximum Environmental Remediation Obligation					$ 2,500,000