Income Taxes (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended		3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2012	Jun. 30, 2011	Jun. 30, 2012	Jun. 30, 2011	Mar. 31, 2012 GHANA	Dec. 31, 2011 GHANA
Current expense
Canada	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0
Foreign	0	(686,000)	0	(1,684,000)
Deferred tax expense
Canada	0	0	0	0
Foreign	(2,931,000)	(3,115,000)	(15,462,000)	(6,422,000)
Total expense	(2,931,000)	(3,801,000)	(15,462,000)	(8,106,000)
Ghana statutory tax rate					35.00%	25.00%
Impact on deferred tax expense					9,600,000
Tax expense related to the activity of the first six monthsof 2012					$ 5,900,000
Temporary tax levy						5.00%