Mining Interests - Owned By Subsidiaries - Summary of Depreciation and Depletion Recognized (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Disclosure of mining assets and property, plant and equipment [Abstract]
Total depreciation and depletion	$ 1,008	$ 996
Less: amounts capitalized to development projects	(5)	(11)
Changes in amounts allocated to ending inventories	(13)	39
Total depreciation and depletion recognized in the Consolidated Statements of Earnings (Loss)	$ 990	$ 1,024

Depreciation is the systematic allocations of depreciable amounts of assets over their useful lifes and depletion is the systematic allocations of depleted amount over the units of production.

No definition available.

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Namespace Prefix:	gg_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration