Derivative Financial Instruments and Fair Value of Financial Instruments (Details Textual)	3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended						3 Months Ended					3 Months Ended				3 Months Ended			3 Months Ended		3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2013 USD ($) oz	Dec. 31, 2012 USD ($) oz	Dec. 31, 2012 MXN	Mar. 31, 2013 Call Option [Member] oz	Dec. 31, 2012 Call Option [Member] oz	Mar. 31, 2013 Put Option [Member] oz	Dec. 31, 2012 Put Option [Member] oz	Mar. 31, 2013 Franco-Nevada warrant [Member] USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2012 Franco-Nevada warrant [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Franco-Nevada warrant [Member] USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2013 Gold call options sold [Member]	Mar. 31, 2013 Gold Call Options Expired [Member] oz	Mar. 31, 2013 Gold put options expired [Member] [Member] USD ($) oz	Mar. 31, 2013 Palmarejo gold production royalty [Member] oz	Dec. 31, 2012 Palmarejo gold production royalty [Member]	Jan. 21, 2009 Palmarejo gold production royalty [Member]	Mar. 31, 2013 Forward foreign exchange contracts [Member] Mexican peso forward purchase contracts [Member] USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2012 Forward foreign exchange contracts [Member] Mexican peso forward purchase contracts [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Forward foreign exchange contracts [Member] Mexican peso forward purchase contracts [Member] USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2013 Forward foreign exchange contracts [Member] Canadian Dollar Forward Exchange Contract [Member] USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2013 Silver [Member] Cerro Bayo Mine [Member] USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2013 Commodity [Member] USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2012 Commodity [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Commodity [Member] USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2013 Maximum [Member] Palmarejo gold production royalty [Member] oz	Mar. 31, 2013 Mexican Peso To United States Dollar [Member] MXN	Mar. 31, 2013 Canadian Dollar To United States Dollar [Member]
Derivative [Line Items]
Life of Mine Production, Percentage																50.00%
Additional Derivative Financial Instruments and Fair Value of Financial Instruments (Textual) [Abstract]
Payment made for gold on the end of royalty obligation														4,167
Percentage of Gold Production														50.00%
Derivative Average Gold Price in Excess of Minimum Contractual Deduction Rate	$ 400
Annual Inflation Compounding Adjustment														1.00%
Royalty Guarantees, Commitments, Amount																									400,000
Total gold remain outstanding														184,851
Fair Value Assumptions, Risk Free Interest Rate	4.20%	4.20%
Derivative, Average Forward Price														1,609	1,694
Fair value liability of the embedded derivative								121,600,000		145,100,000
Company recognized Mark to Market loss								23,500,000	12,400,000
Realized losses on settlement of the liabilities								9,100,000	13,200,000
Weighted average exchange rate			13.11																							12.91	1.0
Fair value of foreign exchange contracts																	800,000		(100,000)	(98,400,000)
Mark-to-market gains and losses on forward foreign exchange contract																	700,000	2,700,000		(1,600,000)
Mark-to-market Realized gains on forward foreign exchange contract																	600,000	800,000
Notional Amount of Foreign Currency Derivatives																	29,400,000		26,100,000	100,000,000
Gold under collars protection				92,000	97,000	109,500	122,000
Weighted Average Put Feature of Each Collar	973.14	967.86
Weighted Average Call Feature of Each Collar	1,966.14	1,967.89
Contract expiration date						3 years
Notional ounces												5,000	12,500
Derivative fair value of derivative liability																						9,300,000		4,500,000
Realized loss from transaction													500,000
Average strike price											2,000.00	921.60
Unrealized gain																						4,800,000	200,000
Fair value of the contract																					0
Derivative Financial Instruments and Fair Value of Financial Instruments (Textual) [Abstract]
Outstanding provisionally priced sales consists of silver	0	400,000
Outstanding provisionally priced sales consists of Gold	15,685	11,957
Outstanding provisionally priced sales	0	33,200,000
Fair value of gold and silver including embedded derivative		$ 34,100,000