Sales (Narrative) (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended	6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2011	Jun. 30, 2010	Jun. 30, 2011	Jun. 30, 2010
Sales
Revenues from by-product sales	$ 8,000,000	$ 8,000,000	$ 15,500,000	$ 16,200,000
Revenue from open market purchases re-sold				$ 4,622,000
Open market PGM ounces sold				10,000

The total amount of other operating income, the components of which are not separately disclosed on the income statement, from items that are associated with the entity's normal revenue producing operation.

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 225
-SubTopic 10
-Section S99
-Paragraph 2
-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-03.1)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6880815&loc=d3e20235-122688

Name:	us-gaap_OtherOperatingIncome
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration