Income Taxes (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2011	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2011	Mar. 31, 2012 GHANA	Sep. 30, 2012 GHANA	Dec. 31, 2011 GHANA
Current expense:
Canada	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0
Foreign	0	(788,000)	0	(2,472,000)
Deferred tax expense:
Canada	0	0	0	0
Foreign	(4,002,000)	(2,833,000)	(19,464,000)	(9,255,000)
Total expense	(4,002,000)	(3,621,000)	(19,464,000)	(11,727,000)
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						$ 9,900,000
Temporary tax levy							5.00%