Litigation	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2014
Litigation [Abstract]
Litigation	Note 17. Litigation We are party to a number of lawsuits arising in the normal course of our business. On May 8, 2013, Armada (Singapore) PTE Limited, an ocean shipping company now in bankruptcy ("Armada") filed a case in federal court in the Northern District of Illinois against AMCOL and certain of its subsidiaries (Armada (Singapore) PTE Limited v. AMCOL International Corp., et al., United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Case No. 13 CV 3455). We acquired AMCOL and its subsidiaries on May 9, 2014. A co-defendant is Ashapura Minechem Limited, a company located in Mumbai, India (“AML”). During the relevant time period, 2008-2010, AMCOL owned slightly over 20% of the outstanding AML stock through December 2009, after which it owned approximately 19%. In 2008, AML entered into two contracts of affreightment (“COA”) with Armada for over 60 ship loads of bauxite from India to China. After one shipment, AML made no further shipments, which led Armada to file arbitrations in London against AML, one for each COA. AML did not appear in the London arbitrations and default awards of approximately $70 million were entered. The litigation filed by Armada against AMCOL and AML relates to these awards, which AML has not paid. The substance of the allegations by Armada is that AML and AMCOL engaged in illegal conduct to thwart Armada’s efforts to collect the arbitration award. The counts in the complaint include both violations of the Illinois Fraudulent Transfer laws as well as federal RICO violations. The lawsuit seeks money damages as well injunctive relief. The litigation is in the discovery phase. Fact discovery and expert discovery is currently scheduled to last through June 12, 2015. At this time, considering this case is in the discovery phase, management cannot estimate potential losses (if any) and therefore has not established any provisions. The Company’s Construction Technologies segment is respondent in an arbitration requested by Bentonit União Nordeste Indústria e Comércio Ltda. (“BUN”), the Company’s joint venture partner in Brazil, alleging a breach of the joint venture agreement and claiming, among other things, damages in the amount of 34 million Brazilian real. The arbitration is in an evidentiary phase and, based on the evidence to date, the Company believes that the BUN claim is unsubstantiated. At this time management anticipates that the amount of the Company's liability, if any, will not have a material effect on its financial position or results of operations. Certain of the Company's subsidiaries are among numerous defendants in a number of cases seeking damages for exposure to silica or to asbestos containing materials. The Company currently has 102 pending silica cases and 13 pending asbestos cases. These totals include 30 silica cases against AMCOL International Corporation and/or its subsidiary, American Colloid Company, that were pending on the date we acquired AMCOL. To date, 1,394 silica cases and 39 asbestos cases have been dismissed, not including any lawsuits against AMCOL or American Colloid Company dismissed prior to our acquisition of AMCOL. Two new asbestos cases were filed in the fourth quarter of 2014. Most of these claims do not provide adequate information to assess their merits, the likelihood that the Company will be found liable, or the magnitude of such liability, if any. Additional claims of this nature may be made against the Company or its subsidiaries. At this time management anticipates that the amount of the Company's liability, if any, and the cost of defending such claims, will not have a material effect on its financial position or results of operations. The Company has not settled any silica or asbestos lawsuits to date (not including any that may have been settled by AMCOL prior to completion of the acquisition). We are unable to state an amount or range of amounts claimed in any of the lawsuits because state court pleading practices do not require identifying the amount of the claimed damage. The aggregate cost to the Company for the legal defense of these cases since inception continues to be insignificant. The majority of the costs of defense for these cases, excluding cases against AMCOL or American Colloid, are reimbursed by Pfizer Inc. pursuant to the terms of certain agreements entered into in connection with the Company's initial public offering in 1992. Of the 13 pending asbestos cases excluding the case against AMCOL / American Colloid, all allege liability based on products sold largely or entirely prior to the initial public offering, and for which the Company is therefore entitled to indemnification pursuant to such agreements. Our experience has been that the Company is not liable to plaintiffs in any of these lawsuits and the Company does not expect to pay any settlements or jury verdicts in these lawsuits. Environmental Matters On February 3, 2015 the Company received notice from the United States Environmental Protection Agency of alleged violations at its Canaan, Connecticut facility of reporting requirements under the Emergency Planning and Community-Right-to-Know Act. The proposed civil penalties for these alleged violations total $163,632. The Company has scheduled a meeting with EPA during the First Quarter to discuss resolution of these alleged violations and proposed penalties. On April 9, 2003, the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection issued an administrative consent order relating to our Canaan, Connecticut, plant where both our Refractories segment and Specialty Minerals segment have operations. We agreed to the order, which includes provisions requiring investigation and remediation of contamination associated with historic use of polychlorinated biphenyls ("PCBs") and mercury at a portion of the site. We have completed the required investigations and submitted several reports characterizing the contamination and assessing site-specific risks. We are awaiting regulators’ approval of the risk assessment report, which will form the basis for a proposal by the Company concerning eventual remediation. We believe that the most likely form of overall site remediation will be to leave the existing contamination in place (with some limited soil removal), encapsulate it, and monitor the effectiveness of the encapsulation. We anticipate that a substantial portion of the remediation cost will be borne by the United States based on its involvement at the site from 1942 – 1964, as historic documentation indicates that PCBs and mercury were first used at the facility at a time of U.S. government ownership for production of materials needed by the military. Pursuant to a Consent Decree entered on October 24, 2014, the United States and the Company have resolved the Company’s claim for response costs for investigation and initial remediation activities at this facility through October 24, 2014. In accordance with that settlement agreement, the government has paid the Company $2.3 Million. Contribution by the United States to any future costs of investigation or additional remediation has, by agreement, been left unresolved. Though the cost of the likely remediation remains uncertain pending completion of the phased remediation decision process, we have estimated that the Company’s share of the cost of the encapsulation and limited soil removal described above would approximate $0.4 million, which has been accrued as of December 31, 2014. The Company is evaluating options for upgrading the wastewater treatment facilities at its Adams, Massachusetts plant. This work has been undertaken pursuant to an administrative Consent Order originally issued by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (“DEP”) on June 18, 2002. This order was amended on June 1, 2009 and on June 2, 2010. The amended Order includes the investigation by January 1, 2022 of options for ensuring that the facility's wastewater treatment ponds will not result in unpermitted discharge to groundwater. Additional requirements of the amendment include the submittal by July 1, 2022 of a plan for closure of a historic lime solids disposal area. Preliminary engineering reviews completed in 2005 indicate that the estimated cost of wastewater treatment upgrades to operate this facility beyond 2024 may be between $6 million and $8 million. The Company estimates that the remaining remediation costs would approximate $0.4 million, which has been accrued as of December 31, 2014. The Company and its subsidiaries are not party to any other material pending legal proceedings, other than routine litigation incidental to their businesses.

Note 17. Litigation

We are party to a number of lawsuits arising in the normal course of our business.

On May 8, 2013, Armada (Singapore) PTE Limited, an ocean shipping company now in bankruptcy ("Armada") filed a case in federal court in the Northern District of Illinois against AMCOL and certain of its subsidiaries (Armada (Singapore) PTE Limited v. AMCOL International Corp., et al., United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Case No. 13 CV 3455). We acquired AMCOL and its subsidiaries on May 9, 2014. A co-defendant is Ashapura Minechem Limited, a company located in Mumbai, India (“AML”). During the relevant time period, 2008-2010, AMCOL owned slightly over 20% of the outstanding AML stock through December 2009, after which it owned approximately 19%. In 2008, AML entered into two contracts of affreightment (“COA”) with Armada for over 60 ship loads of bauxite from India to China. After one shipment, AML made no further shipments, which led Armada to file arbitrations in London against AML, one for each COA. AML did not appear in the London arbitrations and default awards of approximately $70 million were entered. The litigation filed by Armada against AMCOL and AML relates to these awards, which AML has not paid. The substance of the allegations by Armada is that AML and AMCOL engaged in illegal conduct to thwart Armada’s efforts to collect the arbitration award. The counts in the complaint include both violations of the Illinois Fraudulent Transfer laws as well as federal RICO violations. The lawsuit seeks money damages as well injunctive relief. The litigation is in the discovery phase. Fact discovery and expert discovery is currently scheduled to last through June 12, 2015. At this time, considering this case is in the discovery phase, management cannot estimate potential losses (if any) and therefore has not established any provisions.

The Company’s Construction Technologies segment is respondent in an arbitration requested by Bentonit União Nordeste Indústria e Comércio Ltda. (“BUN”), the Company’s joint venture partner in Brazil, alleging a breach of the joint venture agreement and claiming, among other things, damages in the amount of 34 million Brazilian real. The arbitration is in an evidentiary phase and, based on the evidence to date, the Company believes that the BUN claim is unsubstantiated. At this time management anticipates that the amount of the Company's liability, if any, will not have a material effect on its financial position or results of operations.

Certain of the Company's subsidiaries are among numerous defendants in a number of cases seeking damages for exposure to silica or to asbestos containing materials. The Company currently has 102 pending silica cases and 13 pending asbestos cases. These totals include 30 silica cases against AMCOL International Corporation and/or its subsidiary, American Colloid Company, that were pending on the date we acquired AMCOL. To date, 1,394 silica cases and 39 asbestos cases have been dismissed, not including any lawsuits against AMCOL or American Colloid Company dismissed prior to our acquisition of AMCOL. Two new asbestos cases were filed in the fourth quarter of 2014.

Most of these claims do not provide adequate information to assess their merits, the likelihood that the Company will be found liable, or the magnitude of such liability, if any. Additional claims of this nature may be made against the Company or its subsidiaries. At this time management anticipates that the amount of the Company's liability, if any, and the cost of defending such claims, will not have a material effect on its financial position or results of operations.

The Company has not settled any silica or asbestos lawsuits to date (not including any that may have been settled by AMCOL prior to completion of the acquisition). We are unable to state an amount or range of amounts claimed in any of the lawsuits because state court pleading practices do not require identifying the amount of the claimed damage. The aggregate cost to the Company for the legal defense of these cases since inception continues to be insignificant. The majority of the costs of defense for these cases, excluding cases against AMCOL or American Colloid, are reimbursed by Pfizer Inc. pursuant to the terms of certain agreements entered into in connection with the Company's initial public offering in 1992. Of the 13 pending asbestos cases excluding the case against AMCOL / American Colloid, all allege liability based on products sold largely or entirely prior to the initial public offering, and for which the Company is therefore entitled to indemnification pursuant to such agreements. Our experience has been that the Company is not liable to plaintiffs in any of these lawsuits and the Company does not expect to pay any settlements or jury verdicts in these lawsuits.

Environmental Matters

On February 3, 2015 the Company received notice from the United States Environmental Protection Agency of alleged violations at its Canaan, Connecticut facility of reporting requirements under the Emergency Planning and Community-Right-to-Know Act. The proposed civil penalties for these alleged violations total $163,632. The Company has scheduled a meeting with EPA during the First Quarter to discuss resolution of these alleged violations and proposed penalties.

On April 9, 2003, the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection issued an administrative consent order relating to our Canaan, Connecticut, plant where both our Refractories segment and Specialty Minerals segment have operations. We agreed to the order, which includes provisions requiring investigation and remediation of contamination associated with historic use of polychlorinated biphenyls ("PCBs") and mercury at a portion of the site. We have completed the required investigations and submitted several reports characterizing the contamination and assessing site-specific risks. We are awaiting regulators’ approval of the risk assessment report, which will form the basis for a proposal by the Company concerning eventual remediation.

We believe that the most likely form of overall site remediation will be to leave the existing contamination in place (with some limited soil removal), encapsulate it, and monitor the effectiveness of the encapsulation. We anticipate that a substantial portion of the remediation cost will be borne by the United States based on its involvement at the site from 1942 – 1964, as historic documentation indicates that PCBs and mercury were first used at the facility at a time of U.S. government ownership for production of materials needed by the military. Pursuant to a Consent Decree entered on October 24, 2014, the United States and the Company have resolved the Company’s claim for response costs for investigation and initial remediation activities at this facility through October 24, 2014. In accordance with that settlement agreement, the government has paid the Company $2.3 Million. Contribution by the United States to any future costs of investigation or additional remediation has, by agreement, been left unresolved. Though the cost of the likely remediation remains uncertain pending completion of the phased remediation decision process, we have estimated that the Company’s share of the cost of the encapsulation and limited soil removal described above would approximate $0.4 million, which has been accrued as of December 31, 2014.

The Company is evaluating options for upgrading the wastewater treatment facilities at its Adams, Massachusetts plant. This work has been undertaken pursuant to an administrative Consent Order originally issued by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (“DEP”) on June 18, 2002. This order was amended on June 1, 2009 and on June 2, 2010. The amended Order includes the investigation by January 1, 2022 of options for ensuring that the facility's wastewater treatment ponds will not result in unpermitted discharge to groundwater. Additional requirements of the amendment include the submittal by July 1, 2022 of a plan for closure of a historic lime solids disposal area. Preliminary engineering reviews completed in 2005 indicate that the estimated cost of wastewater treatment upgrades to operate this facility beyond 2024 may be between $6 million and $8 million. The Company estimates that the remaining remediation costs would approximate $0.4 million, which has been accrued as of December 31, 2014.

The Company and its subsidiaries are not party to any other material pending legal proceedings, other than routine litigation incidental to their businesses.