Represents the amount committed to funding for social and infrastructure improvement projects

No definition available.

Name:	scco_AmountCommittedForFundingSocialAndInfrastructureImprovementProjects
Namespace Prefix:	scco_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Represents the amount expended for funding social and infrastructure improvement projects in current year.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	scco_AmountExpendedForFundingSocialAndInfrastructureImprovementProjectsInCurrentYear
Namespace Prefix:	scco_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Represents the amount spend in the current year.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	scco_AmountSpendInCurrentYear
Namespace Prefix:	scco_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Represents the annual production in volume during the period.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	scco_AnnualProduction
Namespace Prefix:	scco_
Data Type:	num:massItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Details

Name:	scco_CommitmentsAbstract
Namespace Prefix:	scco_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Captial expansion programs at the Mexican operations that are scheduled to be expended in the next twelve months.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	scco_CommitmentsForCapitalProjects
Namespace Prefix:	scco_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Represents the estimated increase in annual production.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	scco_EstimatedIncreaseInAnnualProduction
Namespace Prefix:	scco_
Data Type:	num:massItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Represents the supply energy for which the entity signed the agreement, expressed in megawatts.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	scco_NumberOfMegawattSupplyEnergyForWhichEntitySignedAgreement
Namespace Prefix:	scco_
Data Type:	num:powerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Represents the net total capacity of the natural gas-fired combined cycle power generating units.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	scco_PowerGeneratingUnitsTotalCapacity
Namespace Prefix:	scco_
Data Type:	num:powerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Represents the original term (in years) of the power purchase agreement completed in connection with the sale of a power plant to an independent power company.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	scco_PowerPurchaseAgreementTerm
Namespace Prefix:	scco_
Data Type:	xbrli:durationItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Represents the budget amount of the project.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	scco_ProjectBudgetAmount
Namespace Prefix:	scco_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Represents the number of power plants constructed by the related party.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	scco_RelatedPartyTransactionsNumberOfPowerPlants
Namespace Prefix:	scco_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Represent the percentage of power supply to third-party energy users out of power output from plant by the related party.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	scco_RelatedPartyTransactionsPercentageOfPowerSupplyToThirdPartyEnergyUsers
Namespace Prefix:	scco_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES: (Details 3)	12 Months Ended										1 Months Ended
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES: (Details 3)	Dec. 31, 2014 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2014 Tia Maria Peru USD ($) T	Dec. 31, 2014 Tia Maria Peru PEN	Dec. 31, 2014 Toquepala Concentrator Expansion Peru USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2014 Toquepala Concentrator Expansion Peru PEN	Dec. 31, 2014 MGE	Dec. 31, 2005 MGE item	Dec. 31, 2014 MGE Mexico MW item	Dec. 31, 2014 Copper Toquepala Concentrator Expansion Peru T	Dec. 31, 2014 Molybdenum Toquepala Concentrator Expansion Peru T	Jun. 30, 2014 Power purchase agreements Electroperu S.A Peru MW	Jul. 31, 2014 Power purchase agreements Kallpa Peru MW
Other commitments:
Project Budget		$ 1,400,000,000		$ 1,200,000,000
Amount expended in current year		353,600,000		346,000,000
Annual production ( in tons)		120,000	120,000
Amount committed to funding for social and infrastructure improvement projects			100,000	148,900,000	445,000,000
Amount expended for funding social and infrastructure improvement projects		33,000,000	700,000	15,100,000	45,000,000
Estimated increase in annual production (in tons)									100,000	3,100
Term of power purchase agreement related to sale of power plant											20 years	10 years
Number of megawatt supply energy for which the entity signed the agreement											120	120
Number of power plants							2	2
Percentage of supply to third-party energy users						12.00%
Net total capacity (in megawatts)								516.2
Commitments for Capital Projects	$ 401,500,000scco_CommitmentsForCapitalProjects