Investment in significant unconsolidated joint ventures.

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Ownership Percentage

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Termination of Option Agreement

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Percentage of voting equity interests acquired at the acquisition date in the business combination.

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Difference between amount at which an investment accounted for under the equity method of accounting is carried (reported) on the balance sheet and amount of underlying equity in net assets the reporting Entity has in the investee.

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Amount of distribution received from equity method investee for return on investment, classified as operating activities. Excludes distribution for return of investment, classified as investing activities.

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The percentage of ownership of common stock or equity participation in the investee accounted for under the equity method of accounting.

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This item represents the carrying amount on the entity's balance sheet of its investment in common stock of an equity method investee. This is not an indicator of the fair value of the investment, rather it is the initial cost adjusted for the entity's share of earnings and losses of the investee, adjusted for any distributions (dividends) and other than temporary impairment (OTTI) losses recognized.

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Amount of income (loss) for proportionate share of equity method investee's income (loss).

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Amount of investment in marketable security, classified as noncurrent.

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Amount of consolidated retained earnings that represent undistributed (not yet received) earnings from 50% or less owned persons accounted for by the equity method (equity method investees).

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Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

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Investments Additional Information (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands		1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Oct. 31, 2019	Feb. 28, 2017	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Schedule of Investments [Line Items]
Equity in net income of unconsolidated investments (net of tax)			$ 129,568	$ 89,264	$ 84,487
Dividends received from unconsolidated investments			71,746	57,415	39,386
Investments in unconsolidated joint ventures exceeded the amount of underlying equity in net assets			15,300	400
Termination of Tianqi Lithium Corporation option agreement		$ 13,100			0
Marketable equity securities			33,637	33,513
Significant Unconsolidated Joint Venture
Schedule of Investments [Line Items]
Investment in significant unconsolidated joint ventures			513,800	466,100
Equity in net income of unconsolidated investments (net of tax)			128,000	88,800	86,800
Undistributed earnings from equity method investees			216,900	159,900
Dividends received from unconsolidated investments			$ 71,000	$ 56,400	$ 38,100
Windfield Holdings
Schedule of Investments [Line Items]
Ownership percentage			49.00%	49.00%	49.00%
Rockwood Lithium GmbH
Schedule of Investments [Line Items]
Ownership percentage		100.00%
Benefit Protection Trust
Schedule of Investments [Line Items]
Marketable equity securities			$ 28,700	$ 26,300
Windfield Holdings
Schedule of Investments [Line Items]
Ownership percentage			49.00%
Carrying value of unconsolidated investment			$ 397,200	349,600
Other Variable Interest Entities Excluding Windfield Holdings
Schedule of Investments [Line Items]
Carrying value of unconsolidated investment			$ 7,600	$ 8,100
Jordan Bromine Company Limited
Schedule of Investments [Line Items]
Ownership percentage			50.00%
Minimum \| Rockwood Lithium GmbH
Schedule of Investments [Line Items]
Ownership percentage			20.00%
Maximum \| Rockwood Lithium GmbH
Schedule of Investments [Line Items]
Ownership percentage			30.00%
Mineral Resources Limited Wodgina Project
Schedule of Investments [Line Items]
Ownership percentage	60.00%		60.00%
Interest percentage acquired	60.00%