XML 39 R45.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT
v3.3.0.814

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES: (Details 2) $ in Millions | 1 Months Ended | 3 Months Ended | 9 Months Ended | 12 Months Ended |
--- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---
Mar. 31, 2015 item | Mar. 31, 2012 item | May. 31, 2011 item | Aug. 31, 2009 USD ($) | Apr. 30, 1996 person | Jun. 30, 2015 item | Sep. 30, 2015 PEN ha item plaintiff item / shares | Dec. 31, 1992 | Dec. 31, 1978 | Dec. 31, 1971 | Sep. 23, 2015 shares
Tia Maria |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Litigation matter |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Area of mining concession (in hectares) | ha |  |  |  |  |  |  | 32,989.64 |  |  |  |
Virgen Maria |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Litigation matter |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Area of mining concession (in hectares) | ha |  |  |  |  |  |  | 943.72 |  |  |  |
Percentage of mining concession |  |  |  |  |  |  | 2.90% |  |  |  |
Purchase price of shares paid to former stockholders | $ |  |  |  | $ 2 |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Garcia Ataucuri and Others against SCC's Peruvian Branch |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Litigation matter |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Number of former Branch workers | 104 |  | 216 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Armando Cornejo Flores Against SCC Peruvian Branch former workers |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Litigation matter |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Number of former Branch workers |  | 37 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Garcia Ataucuri litigation |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Litigation matter |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Number of plaintiffs involved in lawsuits filed | plaintiff |  |  |  |  |  |  | 800 |  |  |  |
Peru |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Litigation matter |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Statutory participation of mine workers in pre-tax profit (as a percent) |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 8.00% |  | 10.00% |
Statutory participation of mine workers in pre-tax profit paid in cash (as a percent) |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 100.00% | 4.00% | 40.00% |
Statutory participation of mine workers in pre-tax profit received as equity interest of enterprise (as a percent) |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 60.00% |
Percentage of pre-tax profits delivered as "labor shares" |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 5.50% |  |
Peru | Garcia Ataucuri and Others against SCC's Peruvian Branch |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Litigation matter |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Number of former employees who filed the complaint | person |  |  |  |  | 900 |  |  |  |  |  |
Damages sought by the plaintiff (includes old soles and labor shares) |  |  |  |  |  |  | 38,763,806.80 |  |  |  |
Damages sought by the plaintiff | PEN |  |  |  |  |  |  | PEN 3.876380680 |  |  |  |
Face value of one labor share | item / shares |  |  |  |  |  |  | 100 |  |  |  |
Labor shares issued by the Branch (as a percent) |  |  |  |  |  |  | 100.00% |  |  |  |
Plaintiffs do not represent the percent of SCC's eligible employees |  |  |  |  |  |  | 100.00% |  |  |  |
Soles de oro equivalent to today's one nuevo sol |  |  |  |  |  |  | 1,000,000,000 |  |  |  |
Number of shares seized as security for damages sought (in shares) | shares |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 10,501,857
Peru | Labor Matters |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Litigation matter |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Percentage of labor unionized |  |  |  |  |  |  | 72.00% |  |  |  |
Total number of workers |  |  |  |  |  |  | 4,605 |  |  |  |
Number of labor unions |  |  |  |  |  |  | 5 |  |  |  |
Number of labor unions represent majority of workers |  |  |  |  |  | 1 | 1 |  |  |  |
Number of labor unions other than majority workers unions |  |  |  |  |  | 4 | 4 |  |  |  |
Peru | Labor Matters | Ilo and Cuajone |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Litigation matter |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Number of labor unions represent majority of workers |  |  |  |  |  | 2 |  |  |  |  |
Peru | Labor Matters | Toquepala |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Litigation matter |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Number of labor unions other than majority workers unions |  |  |  |  |  | 1 |  |  |  |  |

X
- Definition Represents the area of mining concessions. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | scco_AreaOfMiningConcession
Namespace Prefix: | scco_
Data Type: | num:areaItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition Represents the face value of one labor share. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | scco_LaborShareFaceValue
Namespace Prefix: | scco_
Data Type: | xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition Represents the number of shares in awards which the plaintiff seeks in the legal matter. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | scco_LossContingencyDamagesSoughtShares
Namespace Prefix: | scco_
Data Type: | xbrli:decimalItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition The number of investment shares seized in order to secure the delivery of labor shares sought as damage in the litigation. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | scco_LossContingencyDamagesSoughtSharesEquivalentSharesSeized
Namespace Prefix: | scco_
Data Type: | xbrli:sharesItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | instant

X
- Definition Represents the number of former branch workers. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | scco_LossContingencyNumberOfFormerBranchWorkers
Namespace Prefix: | scco_
Data Type: | xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition Represents the number of former employees who filed the complaint seeking the delivery of a substantial number of its labor shares (acciones laborales) plus dividends on such shares. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | scco_LossContingencyNumberOfFormerEmployeesComplaintFiled
Namespace Prefix: | scco_
Data Type: | xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition Represents the number of plaintiffs involved in new claims filed pertaining to a loss contingency during the period. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | scco_LossContingencyNumberOfPlaintiffsInvolvedInNewClaimsFiled
Namespace Prefix: | scco_
Data Type: | xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition Represents the purchase price of shares paid to the plaintiff. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | scco_LossContingencyPurchasePriceOfSharesPaidToPlaintiff
Namespace Prefix: | scco_
Data Type: | xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type: | debit
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition Represents the number of labor unions in the entity. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | scco_NumberOfLaborUnions
Namespace Prefix: | scco_
Data Type: | xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition Represents the number of labor unions other than the majority workers unions in the entity. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | scco_NumberOfLaborUnionsOtherThanMajorityWorkersUnions
Namespace Prefix: | scco_
Data Type: | xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition The number of labor unions in the entity representing the majority of workers. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | scco_NumberOfLaborUnionsRepresentMajorityOfWorkers
Namespace Prefix: | scco_
Data Type: | xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition Represents the percentage of SCC's eligible employees during the period. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | scco_PercentageOfEligibleEmployees
Namespace Prefix: | scco_
Data Type: | num:percentItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition Represents the percentage of labor shares issued by the Branch for all of its employees during that period. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | scco_PercentageOfLaborShares
Namespace Prefix: | scco_
Data Type: | num:percentItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition Represents the percentage of labor which was unionized labor. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | scco_PercentageOfLaborUnionized
Namespace Prefix: | scco_
Data Type: | num:percentItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | instant

X
- Definition Represents the percentage of mining concessions. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | scco_PercentageOfMiningConcession
Namespace Prefix: | scco_
Data Type: | num:percentItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition Represents the amount of soles de oro equivalent to one nuevo sol. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | scco_SolesDeOroEquivalentToOneNuevoSol
Namespace Prefix: | scco_
Data Type: | xbrli:pureItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition Represents the percentage of pre-tax profit provided to mine workers in statutory participation enacted by the law. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | scco_StatutoryParticipationPercentageOfPretaxProfitsProvidedToMineWorkers
Namespace Prefix: | scco_
Data Type: | num:percentItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition Represents the percentage of pre-tax profit provided to mine workers in cash in statutory participation enacted by the law. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | scco_StatutoryParticipationPercentageOfPretaxProfitsProvidedToMineWorkersPaidInCash
Namespace Prefix: | scco_
Data Type: | num:percentItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition Represents the percentage of pre-tax profit provided to mine workers in equity interest of the enterprise in statutory participation enacted by the law. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | scco_StatutoryParticipationPercentageOfPretaxProfitsProvidedToMineWorkersPaidInEquity
Namespace Prefix: | scco_
Data Type: | num:percentItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition Represents the portion of pre-tax profit provided to mine workers as equity pursuant to government legislation. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | scco_StatutoryParticipationReceivedAsEquity
Namespace Prefix: | scco_
Data Type: | num:percentItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition Represents the number of workers of the Peruvian operations. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | scco_TotalNumberOfWorkers
Namespace Prefix: | scco_
Data Type: | xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | us-gaap_LossContingenciesLineItems
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition The value (monetary amount) of the award the plaintiff seeks in the legal matter. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 450 -SubTopic 20 -Section 50 -Paragraph 1 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=25496072&loc=d3e14326-108349 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 450 -SubTopic 20 -Section 50 -Paragraph 9 -Subparagraph (a) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=25496072&loc=d3e14557-108349 Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 450 -SubTopic 20 -Section 50 -Paragraph 4 -Subparagraph (a) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=25496072&loc=d3e14435-108349 + Details
Name: | us-gaap_LossContingencyDamagesSoughtValue
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type: | debit
Period Type: | duration

X
- Details
Name: | scco_SiteAxis=scco_TiaMariaMember
Namespace Prefix: |
Data Type: | na
Balance Type: |
Period Type: |

X
- Details
Name: | scco_SiteAxis=scco_VirgenMariaMember
Namespace Prefix: |
Data Type: | na
Balance Type: |
Period Type: |

X
- Details
Name: | us-gaap_LossContingenciesByNatureOfContingencyAxis=scco_GarciaAtaucuriAndOthersAgainstSouthernCopperCorporationsPeruvianBranchMember
Namespace Prefix: |
Data Type: | na
Balance Type: |
Period Type: |

X
- Details
Name: | us-gaap_LossContingenciesByNatureOfContingencyAxis=scco_ArmandoCornejoFloresAgainstSCCPeruvianBranchFormerWorkersMember
Namespace Prefix: |
Data Type: | na
Balance Type: |
Period Type: |

X
- Details
Name: | us-gaap_LossContingenciesByNatureOfContingencyAxis=scco_GarciaAtaucuriLitigationMember
Namespace Prefix: |
Data Type: | na
Balance Type: |
Period Type: |

X
- Details
Name: | us-gaap_StatementGeographicalAxis=country_PE
Namespace Prefix: |
Data Type: | na
Balance Type: |
Period Type: |

X
- Details
Name: | us-gaap_LossContingenciesByNatureOfContingencyAxis=scco_LaborMattersMember
Namespace Prefix: |
Data Type: | na
Balance Type: |
Period Type: |

X
- Details
Name: | scco_SiteAxis=scco_IloAndCuajoneMember
Namespace Prefix: |
Data Type: | na
Balance Type: |
Period Type: |

X
- Details
Name: | scco_SiteAxis=scco_ToquepalaMember
Namespace Prefix: |
Data Type: | na
Balance Type: |
Period Type: |