Debt (Details Textual) $ in Thousands			3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Jun. 23, 2015 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2015	Sep. 30, 2015 USD ($) oz	Sep. 30, 2014 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2015 USD ($) debt oz	Sep. 30, 2014 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2014 USD ($)
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Cash payments on gold production royalty			$ (10,159)	$ (11,351)	$ (30,281)	$ (38,379)
Debt and capital lease obligations (Textual) [Abstract]
Number of lines of credits, outstanding | debt					2
Debt			11,775		$ 11,775		$ 17,498
Amortization of debt issuance costs			(104)	(107)	(313)	(252)
Write off revolver costs, interest expense			0	0	0	3,035
Line of credit facility, commitment fee amount			0	0	0	179
Loss on termination of revolving credit facility			$ 0	0	0	3,035
Percentage of Actual Gold Production			50.00%
Additional Long term debt and capital lease obligations(Textual) [Abstract]
Remaining Minimum Obligation Under Royalty Agreements			$ 20,300		20,300		$ 34,000
Accretion of Royalty Obligation			1,642	2,545	5,444	8,639
Capitalized interest			926	423	2,670	942
Expensed Interest			$ 12,446	$ 11,616	$ 33,945	$ 36,980
Convertible Senior Notes Due March 2028 [Member]
Debt and capital lease obligations (Textual) [Abstract]
Interest rate on notes			3.25%		3.25%		3.25%
Debt Instrument, Face Amount							$ 0
Senior Notes due 2021 [Member]
Debt and capital lease obligations (Textual) [Abstract]
Debt Instrument, Repurchase Amount			$ 2,000		$ 2,000
Interest rate on notes			7.875%		7.875%		7.875%
Debt			$ 432,900		$ 432,900
Banco Bisa Line of Credit [Member]
Debt and capital lease obligations (Textual) [Abstract]
Borrowing under term facility			$ 12,000		$ 12,000
Line of Credit Facility, Interest Rate at Period End			6.00%		6.00%
Banco de Credito Line of Credit [Member]
Debt and capital lease obligations (Textual) [Abstract]
Borrowing under term facility			$ 15,000		$ 15,000
Line of Credit Facility, Interest Rate at Period End			6.00%		6.00%
Palmarejo gold production royalty [Member]
Debt and capital lease obligations (Textual) [Abstract]
Effective interest rate on the notes			30.50%		30.50%
Palmarejo gold production royalty [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Commodity Royalty Payments | oz			354,004		354,004
Debt and capital lease obligations (Textual) [Abstract]
Remaining ounces under royalty obligation | oz			45,996		45,996
Palmarejo gold production royalty [Member] | Maximum [Member]
Debt and capital lease obligations (Textual) [Abstract]
Payable ounces under royalty obligation | oz			400,000		400,000
Convertible Senior Notes Due March 2028 [Member]
Debt and capital lease obligations (Textual) [Abstract]
Debt			$ 0		$ 0		$ 5,334
Debt Instrument, Repurchased Face Amount			4,600		4,600
San Bartolome Letter of Credit Facility [Member]
Debt and capital lease obligations (Textual) [Abstract]
Line of Credit Facility, Fair Value of Amount Outstanding			9,142		9,142		14,785
Short Term Credit Agreement [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Unamortized debt issuance expense			5,200		5,200
Debt and capital lease obligations (Textual) [Abstract]
Short-term Debt			50,000		50,000
Debt			94,557		94,557
Term Loan due 2020 [Member] | Secured Debt [Member]
Debt and capital lease obligations (Textual) [Abstract]
Long-term Debt	$ 100,000
Prepayment premium for payments between first and second anniversary (as a percent)	105.00%
Prepayment premium for payments after second anniversary (as a percent)	103.00%
Amortization payments (as a percent)	1.00%
Debt Instrument, Term	5 years
Senior Notes due 2021 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Unamortized Discount (Premium), Net			$ 6,400		$ 6,400		$ 7,300
Palmarejo [Member]
Debt and capital lease obligations (Textual) [Abstract]
Expected Royalty Duration					1.0
Eurodollar [Member] | Short Term Credit Agreement [Member]
Debt and capital lease obligations (Textual) [Abstract]
Basis spread on variable rate (as a percent)		2.50%
Eurodollar [Member] | Term Loan due 2020 [Member] | Secured Debt [Member]
Debt and capital lease obligations (Textual) [Abstract]
Basis spread on variable rate (as a percent)	1.00%
Adjusted Eurodollar [Member] | Term Loan due 2020 [Member] | Secured Debt [Member]
Debt and capital lease obligations (Textual) [Abstract]
Basis spread on variable rate (as a percent)	8.00%