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ASSET RETIREMENT OBLIGATION: (Details) $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($) item	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2014 USD ($)
Period after which successive reviews are required by the law (in years)	5 years
Accepted value of the Lima office building	$ 30.8
Cumulative guarantee amount	$ 26.9
Number of units with future closure costs recognized as an asset retirement obligation | item	3
Change in asset retirement obligation			$ 36.3
Environmental remediation		$ 45.0	91.4
Asset retirement obligation activity
Balance at the beginning of the year	$ 190.9	116.1
Changes in estimates		3.8
Additions	10.5	72.2
Closure payments	(2.0)	(14.6)
Accretion expense	17.1	13.4
Balance at the end of the year	216.5	190.9	$ 116.1
Mexico
Plant demolition and soil remediation budgeted cost	66.2
Environmental remediation	66.0
Toquepala Concentrator Expansion
Asset retirement obligation activity
Additions		$ 12.5
Buenavista Project
Asset retirement obligation activity
Additions	$ 9.5

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Represents the cumulative amount of Guarantees paid for an asset retirement obligation.

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Represents the period after which successive reviews are required by the law.

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Represents the number of units for which the entity has recognized an asset retirement obligation.

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The carrying amount of a liability for an asset retirement obligation. An asset retirement obligation is a legal obligation associated with the disposal or retirement of a tangible long-lived asset that results from the acquisition, construction or development, or the normal operations of a long-lived asset, except for certain obligations of lessees.

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-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 410
-SubTopic 20
-Section 50
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Amount of accretion expense recognized during the period that is associated with an asset retirement obligation. Accretion expense measures and incorporates changes due to the passage of time into the carrying amount of the liability.

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Amount of asset retirement obligations incurred during the period.

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Amount of asset retirement obligations settled, or otherwise disposed of, during the period. This may include asset retirement obligations transferred to third parties associated with the sale of a long-lived asset.

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Amount of increase (decrease) in asset retirement obligations.

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Amount of increase (decrease) in the asset retirement obligation from changes in the amount or timing of the estimated cash flows associated with the settlement of the obligation.

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Total anticipated costs associated with remediation, site restoration, postclosure, monitoring commitments, or other exit costs that may occur on the sale, disposal, or abandonment of a particular property resulting from unanticipated contamination of the assets.

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Fair value portion of physical assets used in the normal conduct of business to produce goods and services and not intended for resale. Examples include, but are not limited to, land, buildings, machinery and equipment, office equipment, and furniture and fixtures.

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