Debt (Details Textual)					3 Months Ended				6 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Jul. 25, 2016 USD ($)	Jul. 15, 2016 USD ($)	Jun. 23, 2015 USD ($)	Oct. 02, 2014 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($) oz	Sep. 30, 2016 USD ($) Agreements oz shares		Jun. 30, 2016 shares	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($) oz shares	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($) oz	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($) shares		Dec. 31, 2014 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Mar. 12, 2014 USD ($)
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Number of Agreements | Agreements						2
Debt and capital lease obligations (Textual) [Abstract]
Stock Issued During Period, Shares, New Issues | shares								9,253,016	17,691,094
(Gain) Loss on extinguishment of debt										$ 21,365,000	$ (15,916,000)		$ 0
Extinguishment of Debt, Amount										10,616,000	53,373,000		0
Long-term Debt and Capital Lease Obligations					$ 198,857,000	$ 198,857,000			$ 198,857,000	198,857,000	479,979,000
Price per ounce under agreement					$ 416				$ 416	416
Cash payments on gold production royalty										27,155,000	39,235,000		48,395,000
Debt principal under share exchange											$ 54,200,000
Shares exchanged for debt principal | shares											14,400,000
Additional Long term debt and capital lease obligations(Textual) [Abstract]
Accretion of Royalty Obligation										$ 1,211,000	$ 6,567,000		10,773,000
Senior Notes due 2021 [Member]
Debt and capital lease obligations (Textual) [Abstract]
Debt Instrument, Face Amount															$ 150,000,000
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage					7.875%				7.875%	7.875%	7.875%
Long-term debt, original principal													$ 450,000,000
Debt Instrument, Repurchase Amount					$ 190,000,000				$ 190,000,000	$ 190,000,000	$ 71,300,000
debt instrument, make whole premium					$ 9,000,000				$ 9,000,000	$ 9,000,000
Long-term Debt and Capital Lease Obligations						$ 175,991,000	[1]				$ 373,433,000	[2]
Convertible Senior Notes Due March 2028 [Member]
Debt and capital lease obligations (Textual) [Abstract]
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage					3.25%	3.25%			3.25%	3.25%	3.25%
Long-term Debt and Capital Lease Obligations						$ 0					$ 712,000
Banco de Credito Line of Credit [Member]
Debt and capital lease obligations (Textual) [Abstract]
Borrowing under term facility											$ 15,000,000
Line of Credit Facility, Interest Rate at Period End											6.00%
San Bartolome Letter of Credit Facility [Member]
Debt and capital lease obligations (Textual) [Abstract]
Long-term Debt and Capital Lease Obligations						$ 0					$ 4,571,000
Banco Bisa Line of Credit [Member]
Debt and capital lease obligations (Textual) [Abstract]
Line of Credit Facility, Remaining Borrowing Capacity					$ 12,000,000				$ 12,000,000	$ 12,000,000
Borrowing under term facility											$ 12,000,000
Line of Credit Facility, Interest Rate at Period End					6.00%				6.00%	6.00%	6.00%
Palmarejo gold stream agreement [Member]
Debt and capital lease obligations (Textual) [Abstract]
Termination payment				$ 2,000,000
Price per ounce under agreement				$ 800
Palmarejo gold production royalty [Member]
Debt and capital lease obligations (Textual) [Abstract]
Payment made for gold on the end of royalty obligation | oz					4,167	4,167			4,167	4,167
Annual Inflation Compounding Adjustment					1.00%				1.00%	1.00%
Palmarejo gold production royalty [Member] | Maximum [Member]
Debt and capital lease obligations (Textual) [Abstract]
Payable ounces under royalty obligation | oz					400,000				400,000	400,000
Senior Notes due 2021 [Member]
Debt and capital lease obligations (Textual) [Abstract]
Long-term Debt						$ 10,800,000
Stock Issued During Period, Shares, New Issues | shares						700,000
(Gain) Loss on extinguishment of debt					$ 11,300,000	$ 1,200,000
Convertible Senior Notes Due March 2028 [Member]
Debt and capital lease obligations (Textual) [Abstract]
Repayments of Convertible Debt	$ 700,000
Senior Notes due 2021 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Unamortized Discount (Premium), Net					2,000,000				$ 2,000,000	$ 2,000,000	$ 5,300,000
Debt and capital lease obligations (Textual) [Abstract]
(Gain) Loss on extinguishment of debt											(15,900,000)
Short Term Credit Agreement [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Unamortized debt issuance expense											5,000,000
Debt and capital lease obligations (Textual) [Abstract]
Short-term Debt														$ 50,000,000.0
Term Loan due 2020 [Member] | Secured Debt [Member]
Debt and capital lease obligations (Textual) [Abstract]
Debt Instrument, Term			5 years
Long-term Debt			$ 100,000,000
Repayments of Debt		$ 99,000,000
Payments of Debt Extinguishment Costs		4,400,000
Extinguishment of Debt, Amount		103,400,000
San Bartolome Letter of Credit Facility [Member]
Debt and capital lease obligations (Textual) [Abstract]
Line of Credit Facility, Fair Value of Amount Outstanding					$ 0				$ 0	$ 0	$ 4,571,000
Other Nonoperating Income (Expense) [Member] | Term Loan due 2020 [Member] | Secured Debt [Member]
Debt and capital lease obligations (Textual) [Abstract]
(Gain) Loss on extinguishment of debt		$ 8,800,000

[1] (1)Net of unamortized debt issuance costs and premium received of $2.0 million.

[2] (1)Net of unamortized debt issuance costs and premium received of $5.3 million.