SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended		63 Months Ended			3 Months Ended		12 Months Ended		3 Months Ended		12 Months Ended					3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014	Mar. 31, 2013	Mar. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 1999 acre	Mar. 31, 2014 Warrant Derivative Liability [Member]		Dec. 31, 2013 Warrant Derivative Liability [Member]		Mar. 31, 2014 PIK Note Derivative Liability [Member]		Dec. 31, 2013 PIK Note Derivative Liability [Member]		Mar. 31, 2014 Fair Value, Inputs, Level 1 [Member]	Mar. 31, 2014 Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2 [Member]	Mar. 31, 2014 Fair Value, Inputs, Level 3 [Member]	Mar. 31, 2014 Building and Building Improvements [Member] Minimum [Member]	Mar. 31, 2014 Building and Building Improvements [Member] Maximum [Member]	Mar. 31, 2014 Mining Equipment [Member] Minimum [Member]	Mar. 31, 2014 Mining Equipment [Member] Maximum [Member]	Mar. 31, 2014 Office and Shop Furniture and Equipment [Member] Minimum [Member]	Mar. 31, 2014 Office and Shop Furniture and Equipment [Member] Maximum [Member]	Mar. 31, 2014 Vehicles [Member]
Principles of Consolidation [Abstract]
Ownership percentage in Park Copper Mining (in hundredths)					53.00%
Value of acquired interest in Park Copper Mining					$ 72,825
Volume of timber and mineral property hold by park copper in northern Idaho (in acres)					100
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property, plant and equipment, useful life																	20 years	40 years	2 years	7 years	3 years	7 years	5 years
Depreciation expense	108,386	78,798	1,242,144
Fair Value Inputs, recurring and non-recurring [Line Items]
Warrant derivative	225,000		225,000	950,000										0	225,000	0
PIK Note derivative	480,375		480,375	2,250,000										0	480,375	0
Fair Value due to PIK	15,200,000		15,200,000
Market price and estimated fair value of stock (in dollars per share)						$ 0.72		$ 1.10		$ 0.72		$ 1.10
Exercise price (in dollars per share)						$ 1.93		$ 1.93		$ 1.40		$ 1.40
Term						2 years 8 months 23 days		3 years		9 years 3 months 29 days
Dividend yield (in hundredths)						0.00%		0.00%		0.00%		0.00%
Expected volatility rate (in hundredths)						56.00%	[1]	76.90%	[1]	56.00%	[1]	76.90%	[1]
Risk-free interest rate (in hundredths)						0.50%		0.78%		2.63%		2.96%
Change in valuation of derivative liabilities						$ 118,500				$ 126,000
Per share data [Abstract]
Weighted average outstanding shares of common stocks used to calculate loss per share (in shares)	94,692,696	93,681,139
Outstanding options and warrants to purchase common stock not included in diluted computation (in shares)	22,283,046	21,706,267	22,283,046
Convertible shares (in shares)	7,500,000		7,500,000
Non-Controlling Interest [Abstract]
Ownership percentage of Park Copper and Gold Mining Co Ltd. (in hundredths)					53.00%

[1] During the first quarter of 2014, the Company revised its assumption for expected volatility by switching from a peer-group average volatility to the Company’s three-year historical volatility in measuring the value of the derivative liabilities mentioned above. Prior to 2011, the occurrence of certain corporate events would not have made the historical volatility calculations meaningful or accurate if included. This reduction in volatility led to a reduced valuation for both the Warrant and PIK Note derivative liabilities of approximately $118,500 and $126,000, respectively. The remaining decrease in the valuation is attributable to the decline in the Company’s stock price.