Litigation (Details) $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019 USD ($) Case	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($)	Oct. 24, 2014 USD ($)
Loss Contingency, Information about Litigation Matters [Abstract]
Litigation expenses | $	$ 10.9	$ 0.0	$ 0.0
Site Contingency [Abstract]
Consent decree paid by US government | $				$ 2.3
Silica Cases [Member]
Loss Contingency, Information about Litigation Matters [Abstract]
Number of pending cases	3
Cumulative number of cases dismissed	1,493
Number of cases dismissed	0
Number of lawsuits settled	1
Number of remaining non-AMCOL cases where alleged exposure is after Company's IPO	4
Number of remaining cases that involve AMCOL only - no indemnity	4
Asbestos Cases [Member]
Loss Contingency, Information about Litigation Matters [Abstract]
Number of pending cases	119
Cumulative number of cases dismissed	64
Number of new cases filed	96
Number of cases dismissed	7
Number of lawsuits settled	0
Number of cases claim liability	49
Number of allege liability	66
Number of cases with no alleged exposure date	62
Administrative Consent Order for Contamination Associated with Historic Use of PCBs [Member]
Site Contingency [Abstract]
Location of plant	Canaan, Connecticut
Estimated accrued remediation cost | $	$ 0.4
Administrative Consent Order for Installation of Groundwater Contamination System [Member]
Site Contingency [Abstract]
Location of plant	Adams, Massachusetts plant
Estimated accrued remediation cost | $	$ 0.4
Estimated cost of wastewater treatment upgrades, lower range | $	6.0
Estimated cost of wastewater treatment upgrades, upper range | $	$ 8.0