Consolidated Statements Of Operations (USD $) In Thousands, except Share data in Millions, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2012	Mar. 31, 2011
REVENUE
Gold revenues	$ 131,020	$ 116,506
Cost of sales (Note 15)	117,145	107,751
Mine operating margin	13,875	8,755
Exploration expense	1,264	579
General and administrative expense	6,767	7,102
Derivative mark-to-market loss (Note 5)	162	4,249
(Gain)/loss on fair value of convertible debentures (Note 4)	892	(18,185)
Property holding costs	2,074	2,674
Foreign exchange loss	861	257
Interest expense	2,773	2,358
Interest and other income	(138)	(39)
Loss on sale of assets	15	0
Gain on sale of assets	(22,385)	0
Income before income tax	21,590	9,760
Income tax expense	(12,531)	(4,305)
Net income	9,059	5,455
Net (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interest	(54)	(473)
Net income attributable to Golden Star shareholders	$ 9,113	$ 5,928
Net income per share attributable to Golden Star shareholders
Basic (Note 17)	$ 0.035	$ 0.023
Diluted (Note 17)	$ 0.035	$ 0.023
Weighted average shares outstanding (millions)	258.7	258.6
Weighted average shares outstanding-diluted (millions)	258.9	259.8