Basis of Preparation of Financial Statements (Details 2) (Velardena Properties)	0 Months Ended	1 Months Ended
Jun. 19, 2013 item	Oct. 31, 2013 item	Jul. 31, 2013 item
Velardena Properties
Suspension of operations
Number of positions eliminated		20	420
Number of employees planned to be retained	40

Represents the number of employees planned to be retained to facilitate a re-start of operations and to maintain and safeguard the longer term value of the asset.

No definition available.

Name:	aumn_RestructuringAndRelatedActivitiesNumberOfEmployeesPlannedToBeRetained
Namespace Prefix:	aumn_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration